PEMBROKE – Behind a sensational team attack percentage and excellent front line defense, the UNCP women's volleyball team earned a 3-1 victory over the visiting Lander Bearcats on Friday evening at the English E. Jones Center in Pembroke.

"I thought we played well offensively and we looked very sharp. Heather (Bolwerk) put up some pretty nice balls, and since we played this team before, it sunk in to where we finally figured out where we should attack," said UNCP head coach Jeff Billington. "I think defensively we could have looked a little sharper, but we passed very well and this is a great win.  We redeemed ourselves. We knew that we didn't give them our best game on their court, and I feel like we did a great job tonight."

The Lady Braves (14-6, 4-3 PBC) hit .242 as a team compared to .181 by Lander (8-11, 2-7 PBC), which was largely attributed to UNCP's only having 14 attack errors during the match while Lander more than doubled the UNCP number with 27. UNCP also recorded 10.0 blocks on the night compared to 5.0 by the Bearcats, leading to some of the errant hits by the Bearcats front line.

UNCP was led by Rebecca Morgan and Tiara Anderson, who finished with 17 and 16 kills, respectively.  Morgan finished two off her season-high in kills behind a .326 attack percentage while adding a team-leading 20 digs, two service aces and three block assists. Anderson, meanwhile, finished one kill off her season-high and also recorded five digs and two assisted blocks on the night.

Rachel Young added seven kills on a .500 hitting percentage, and has .385 hitting percentage over her last four matches.  She added three solo blocks and four assisted blocks on her final tally sheet for the night.

Heather Bolwerk registered 43 assists to finish two off her season-high in the same category, while addings nine digs and two kills on a .400 attack percentage.  

UNCP will close out their weekend homestand when they host a tri-match beginning at 11:00 a.m. against the Pacers of USC Aiken.