WINGATE, N.C. - With three players reaching double-figure kills, fourth-seeded GRU Augusta outlasted fifth-seeded Anderson, 3-2 (25-23, 27-25, 22-25, 15-13) in the NCAA Southeast Region Volleyball Tournament, hosted by Wingate at the Bulldogs' Cuddy Arena Thursday afternoon.

Anderson (25-9), which was looking for its second NCAA Tournament win in as many years, nearly rallied from a two-set deficit, but saw its season end with a school-record 25 victories.

"What a great year we had," said Anderson head coach Craig Mosqueda. "I am so proud of this team and our accomplishments. This group of seniors has meant so much to this program including Jessica Velasquez and her selfless service to her team. Tonight we fought as hard as we could but unfortunately we did not prevail. GRU played a tough match and at the end of set five, it could have gone either way."

GRU Augusta (27-8) bounced back from a disappointing loss in the quarterfinals of the Peach Belt Conference Tournament and advances to the regional semifinals in its' first-ever appearance in the postseason event. The Lady Jaguars will meet the winner of the 12th-ranked and top-seeded Wingate/No. 8 seed Erskine Friday night at 7:30 p.m.

Senior Hailey Pittman recorded a match-high 24 kills for the Trojans, while adding six block assists. Fellow senior Shannon Gillespie notched 16 kills and 19 digs for her 10th double-double of the season, with freshman Marissa Mitter tallying 11 kills. Sophomore Priscilla Irizarry posted her 18th double-double of the campaign with a match-high 38 assists and 15 digs, while freshman Tatianna Grodecky dished out 12 assists. Senior libero/defensive specialist Alix Hooker shared match-high honors with 19 digs.

Kali Boatwright had 19 kills and 19 digs to lead the GRU attack, while Kristen Koch added 18 kills and 19 digs. Maggie Darling contributed 12 kills, five digs and five blocks, while Kaila Baptiste had seven kills. Sadie Thurston had 31 assists and nine digs, while Alyssa Latham contributed 24 assists and 10 digs.

GRU Augusta hit .245 on the day, with 71 kills and 26 errors in 184 attacks. Anderson had 60 kills and 27 errors in 183 attacks, hitting .180.

Behind a blistering .714 hitting percentage in the opening moments, GRU Augusta bolted out to an early 5-2 advantage and claimed a four-point lead. Trailing 10-6, the Trojans posted a 5-1 run to knot the score for the first time of the match, as Pittman knocked down three of her kills to fuel the surge. But the Trojans were unable to wrestle the lead away from the Lady Jaguars until Irizarry's service ace gave AU its first lead, at 14-13. The opening set saw five ties from that point forward, with the Trojans capturing its largest lead of the set, at 19-16 on a kill from Pittman. But with AU clinging to a 22-21 edge, the Trojans were unable to overcome GRU Augusta's red-hot .516 hitting percentage in the opening set, as GRU Augusta closed the frame with a 4-1 run to claim the set.

It was Anderson's turn to take an early lead in the second set, as the Trojans garnered an early 8-3 lead behind Pittman's four kills and two block assists. But GRU Augusta posted four unanswered points to pull within one, before the Trojans countered with a 5-0 run of their own to build the lead to 13-7 - their largest lead of the set. Despite holding a 15-10 lead, the Trojans were unable to fend off a comeback by the Lady Jaguars. GRU Augusta scored five straight points as part of an overall 11-2 outburst that saw the Lady Jags take a four-point advantage at 21-17. Anderson fought with four straight points, as the Trojans took advantage of a pair of GRU Augusta errors and a pair of blocks to even the score. The frame was tied four more times before the Lady Jags snapped a 25-25 deadlock with two straight points to take a two-set lead in the match.

The third set was tied seven times, including on four occasions late in the late going. Trailing, 8-6, the Trojans posted a 5-1 surge to take a two-point lead and steadily built a 19-15 advantage on three straight Augusta errors, but the Lady Jags responded with five unanswered points to claim a brief one-point, 20-19, edge on a Koch kill. With the score even at 22 apiece, AU rattled off three consecutive points, with back-to-back Gillespie kills giving the Trojans a 24-22 advantage. A kill from Irizarry ended the third frame.

With AU holding a 6-3 lead in the fourth set, the Lady Jags scored five straight points to take an 8-6 lead. GRU Augusta took a 14-10 lead on a block from Darling, while a Mitter kill and a Hooker later tied it at 15. A Pittman kill and an Augusta error put the Trojans on top 17-16 and with the score knotted at 17 apiece, AU rattled off a 6-1 run to claim a 23-18 advantage on a Pittman ace and an Irizarry block. The Lady Jaguars scored the next five points, tying it at 23 on back-to-back Darling kills. A Gillespie kill put Anderson on top 24-23, while an Augusta error ended the set.

A Darling kill gave Augusta a 7-2 lead in the fifth set, while three Gillespie kills helped Anderson cut the deficit to two at 9-7, but an error gave the Jaguars a 10-7 lead. A Gillespie kill got Anderson within one at 11-10, while an Augusta error tied it at 11. With the set tied 12-12, Koch put the Jaguars on top with a kill, but Gillespie responded with a kill to tie it at 13. A Koch kill made it 14-13, while a Boatwright kill ended the match.