Peach Belt Goes 3-0 At Crossover Friday

SAVANNAH, Ga. - The Peach Belt Conference went 3-0 on the first day of the PBC/Conference Carolinas Crossover, hosted by Armstrong Atlantic State, on Friday in Savannah. 

Each Peach Belt squad swept through their matches with 3-0 victories, though individual sets were close in two of the matches.

Host AASU, currently second in the PBC standings, hosted Conference Carolinas frontrunner Pfeiffer and picked up a 28-26, 25-8, 26-24 victory over the Falcons. The first and third sets were quite even, but AASU put on a clinic in between, hitting .727 with 16 kills and no errors in 22 attacks in the lopsided second set.

Senior Brendyce Budd hit .476 with 12 kills and just two errors in 21 attacks, also adding four blocks to lead the host Pirates (17-7). Senior Amy Birkemeier hit .321 with 12 kills - nine in the first set - while the PBC's leading hitter, Kathrin Standhardinger, hit .529 with nine kills and no errors in 17 attacks. Kristin Standhardinger tallied 39 assists and 10 digs, while Casey Howett added 12 digs.

Pfeiffer (16-8) was led by Brittany Dickens' nine kills and three blocks, Vanessa Gerig's 26 assists and Lauren Dickens' eight digs. 

Peach Belt frontrunner Flagler notched a 25-17, 25-15, 25-13 win over St. Andrews in their first action in the crossover. The Saints (19-8) hit .247 for the match, while holding the Knights (9-5) to a -.047 hitting percentage.

Justine Burkhardt led a balanced Flagler attack with eight kills, while Katie Beale and Meg Weathersby each added seven kills. Olivia Snipes added 18 assists and Beale led defensively with 10 digs.

St. Andrews was led by Heather Bolwerk's seven kills, Kelly Stine's 11 assists and Courtney McDonald's match-high 17 digs.

Augusta State wrapped up the first day of action with a 27-25, 25-23, 25-19 win over King (Tenn.). The Jaguars (18-9) have now won 10 of their last 11 matches, while King (21-5) saw its modest three-match win streak snapped.

Play concludes in the 2009 PBC/Conference Carolinas Crossover with a pair of matches for each team tomorrow, beginning at 11 a.m. with AASU vs. St. Andrews, Flagler vs. King and Augusta State vs. Pfeiffer.