PEMBROKE – UNCP junior outside hitter Rebecca Morgan put on an offensive show in her first go round at the English E. Jones Center Wednesday by firing up the home crowd with a new UNCP season-high 19 kills, helping the Lady Braves to open their PBC schedule with a 3-1 victory over Augusta State via scores of 26-24, 10-25, 25-13 and 25-22.

BOX SCORE

"It was very obvious that we were playing at home, we came out a little tight.  That first game was key, I didn't know how it was going to go..it could have gone either way.  We ended up coming out on a top and that proved to be pivotal because of the momentum swing," said UNCP head coach Jeff Billington.

"We did some very good things but there's still some things we need to work on.  They played really good defense so my hat goes off to them.  Other than that, every conference match is going to be tough.  We're happy to be 7-2 and I think this is the best start we've had in a long time so I'm very pleased for the girls."

With the win, UNCP improves to 7-2 overall on the season and 1-0 in the Peach Belt.  The win also improved their all-time record against the Jaguars to 18-17, and snaps a three-match losing streak.

Morgan's tremendous night was possible because of an astonishing .359 hitting percentage on 39 attacks.  Her main partner-in-crime on the night was fellow junior Heather Bolwerk, also playing in her first home match for UNCP, who kept the UNCP offense clicking most of the night and handed out 34 assists and added 14 digs on defense.

Tiara Anderson added nine kills on the night and her fellow captain Rachel Young finished with a .556 hitting percentage and five kills to go along with five blocks.

Freshmen Marissa Baker and Jennifer Grunden chipped in 16 and 12 digs, respectively, in their first collegiate home matches.

UNCP will be back at it on Saturday when they host the Falcons of Montevallo in another PBC match.  Start time is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and admission is free.  Montevallo is 4-0 and 1-0 in the Peach Belt as of September 15.