By CHAD HENSLEY
Sports Information Contributor

GREENWOOD – The Lander volleyball team fought hard but were defeated by Augusta in a five-set thriller (25-21, 21-25, 23-25, 25-15, 15-8) in Peach Belt action Saturday afternoon at Horne Arena.

Christina Aguayo's 14 kills led the offensive attack for the Bearcats and was closely followed by Olivia Dow, who tallied 10 kills of her own.

Three Bearcats earned double-doubles on the day as Aguayo notched 11 digs to go along with her 14 kills.

Madilyn Reed and Maddie Moss also collected double-doubles in assists and digs as setters in head coach head coach Ashley White's 2-setter system.

Reed, a junior from Graniteville, dished out a team-high 22 assists and earned 15 digs.

Moss, a sophomore from Birmingham, Ala., tallied 20 assists and 19 digs on day.

Maddie Reed led the way in digs with 23 and Hallie Huth added 16 of her own.

Lander (1-4, 1-4 Peach Belt) took a 2-1 lead after three tightly contested sets before Augusta (4-2, 3-2 Peach Belt) was able to pull away in final two sets for the match victory.

The Jaguars employed a nasty service game that earned themselves 13 aces, but also gave the Bearcats 15 points on service errors.

Lander hit just .108 for the match on 48 kills and 29 attack errors on 176 attempts.

The first set would see the Bearcats outhit Augusta by a .220 to .093 margin.

Chloe Allen led Augusta with 14 kills while Brooklyn Holthaus dished out a match-high 26 assists for the Jaguars.

The Bearcats will look to rebound and end their 3-match losing streak when they welcome USC Aiken to Horne Arena on Tues., March 23. First serve for the Peach Belt contest is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

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