CLINTON, Miss. — Mississippi Christian defeated Augusta 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-15) on Saturday. The Choctaws finished with 35 kills and a .229 hitting percentage while holding Augusta to 20 kills and a -.030 percentage.
MC erased a mid-set deficit and finished the opening set on a 7-1 stretch to beat Augusta 25-18. Earlier,
Reese Regner helped the Choctaws start quickly with back-to-back service aces and an assist on
Meg Paparella's kill for a 4-0 lead, but Augusta answered with a run that put MC behind 13-10. The Blue and Gold worked back through kills from
Audrianna Green and Paparella, then
Samarin Kipple served an ace and Paparella added another kill to move the home side ahead 16-14. After Augusta stayed within 20-18, MC closed the set with five straight points, including
Caroline Downey's kill to make it 21-18 and four consecutive
Maeve Allen service points capped by
Mary Grace Foster and Downey kills.
The Choctaws closed the second set by taking four of the final five points from a 21-21 tie, finishing a 25-22 win. Earlier, after falling behind 2-1, MC moved in front with a stretch that included a Foster kill, Foster's block on an Augusta attack error and a
Rhaia Davey kill for a 6-3 advantage. Augusta came back to tie the set at 8-8, but the Blue and Gold answered with a
Meg Paparella block, two Paparella kills and a Paparella ace during a push to 14-10. After Augusta later went ahead 16-15, MC responded with three straight points, including Davey's block, to go back up 18-16. Paparella's kill put the Choctaws ahead 22-21, Downey added kills for 23-21 and set point at 24-22, and an Augusta attack error ended the set.
MC broke open the third set by winning seven of eight rallies from 11-7 to an 18-8 lead, a stretch that included Downey's service ace and three kills by
Meg Paparella. Earlier, the Choctaws built an 8-2 lead behind kills from
Audrianna Green,
Aubrie Lay and Paparella, with Lay also credited on a block during that opening push. After Augusta moved from 18-8 to 18-11, the Blue and Gold answered with three straight points, including a Foster block, before Lay delivered back-to-back kills to make it 23-12.
Harper Green added a late kill from
Samarin Kipple, and MC finished the set with a 25-15 win.
Meg Paparella led the Choctaws with 13 kills and 16 points, hitting .500 while adding two service aces and five digs.
Samarin Kipple recorded a team-high 14 digs and added five assists and a service ace.
Reese Regner finished with a team-best 13 assists, two service aces and five digs.
Mamie Fromdahl tallied 10 assists and nine digs.
Up next, MC travels to Livingston, Ala., to face West Alabama on Friday, Sept. 18, at 6 p.m.
