Young Goes For 18 In 3-1 Victory Over Francis Marion

GREENWOOD, S.C. – Freshman Rachel Young tallied 18 kills while hitting for a .400 average as UNCP defeated Francis Marion Saturday afternoon, 3-1 (31-29, 30-19, 22-30, 30-27), at the Peach Belt Conference Tournament hosted by Lander.

The win for UNCP (21-16) is the first at the PBC Tournament since the 2002 season when the Braves earned a 3-2 victory of USC Aiken. Aiken will be Pembroke’s next opponent in the tournament later tonight at 7 p.m.

Francis Marion (13-21) recorded 59 kills as a team with Jessica Lombardi garnering 16 kills to lead the Patriots. Jenna Kaiser totaled 52 assists directing the Patriot offense and Kelsie Deaton tallied 21 digs to lead FMU.

Young’s 18 kills are a career-high for the middle hitter from Leesburg, Va. Fellow freshman Tiara Anderson and sophomore Jessica Hartley each had 11 kills on the day to help lead the Braves to victory. Hartley also led all players with seven total blocks for Pembroke.

All-PBC setter Heather Fierce finished the match with 49 assists and libero Andrea Laza led all players with 25 digs.

Tonight’s match with the Pacers will be the third meeting of the season between the two schools with Aiken winning the previous two. UNCP’s last tournament victory was also Pembroke’s last win over USC Aiken, five years ago.