WINGATE, N.C. --- In a battle of conference champions, the NCAA Division II Southeast Region match went to the Peach Belt title holder, No.  2 seed Augusta. No. 7 seed Tusculum, the South Atlantic Conference champion, finishes the 2023 campaign with a 22-7 mark.

The Pioneers' 22 wins are the most since the program's Sweet Sixteen run in 2012 (24). This year's squad became the first in program history to claim the conference tournament title.

TU's (22-7) 10-match winning streak was ended by the Jaguars (28-4) in four sets: 26-24, 19-25, 23-25, 22-25.

Sophia Kruczko led Augusta with 16 kills on a .389 hitting percentage, followed by AVCA region player of the year Jazmyn Wheeler's 15 strikes. Janvier Buggs dished out 38 assists, while Wheeler tallied a team-best three service aces. Libero Dariana Luna finished with 24 digs, just ahead of Buggs with 23 and Wheeler's 20. At the net, Madelyn Eden was credited with five total blocks (one solo, four assists).

For Tusculum, Whitney Thompson led the charge with 12 kills, followed by Emiah Burrowes with 11. Aly Freeland (8), Martina Foster (7), Madison Adkins (4), Olivia Crowl (4), and McKayla Willey (2) wrapped up the scoring. Adkins distributed 31 assists and landed four aces. Freeland recorded the remaining service point. Freshman libero Caley Sosnowski tallied a match-high 28 digs, ahead of 21 by Freeland and 13 by Amiranee Au. Burrowes added 10 digs to register a double-double in her final collegiate match. Defensively, both Crowl and Foster assisted in three blocks.

Augusta hit .209 as a team with 55 kills and 19 errors on 172 total attempts. Tusculum hit .116 with 48 kills, 25 errors, and 198 total attacks. The Jags led the Pioneers in assists (50-38), digs (110-87), and total blocks (9-6), while the teams tied with five service aces each.