PEMBROKE – Sophomore Jennifer Grunden and freshman Chelsea Phillips used impeccable serving to close out the match with Francis Marion on Wednesday evening as the Lady Braves tallied 11 service aces en route to defeating the Patriots, 3-0, in the English E. Jones Center. The scores were 25-19, 25-22 and 25-20.
Grunden entered game three as the team was down 19-15 and produced quality serves to bring the Lady Braves (13-15, 5-7 PBC) to within two points at the 20-18 mark. Phillips took over with the score tied at 20-20 and finished the game with a service ace that graced the top of the net to bring home the victory for UNCP.
The Lady Braves saw intense action from Heather Bolwerk as she tallied a game-high 11 kills on 19 attempts to hit a .368 hitting percentage, while setter Ashlyn Rebok totaled all 36 assists for UNCP. Rebecca Morgan proved to be a threat at the net after registering 10 kills on 24 attempts along with delivering three services aces and eight digs.
Leading the Lady Braves on defense was libero Marissa Baker with 20 digs while Phillips and Grunden added nine and seven digs, respectively. Outside hitter Hannah Hill moved positions to middle hitter and showed her versatility as she grabbed six kills on 10 attempts and a .400 hitting percentage.
Hill dispensed a monstrous block solo on the attack by Francis Marion's (10-17, 2-10) Liz Drewry before turning around and collecting a block assist with Rebok to send the Black and Gold to match point. Senior Tricia Varno grabbed two block assists for UNCP as Bolwerk and Morgan each added one.
"We played much better in spurts tonight. We didn't play a complete three set match but we came through at the right time," said UNCP head coach Jeff Billington. "We talked about getting off to a good start and we set the tone at home."
UNCP held Francis Marion to a .115 hitting percentage and a 42 percent sideout percentage, while the Lady Braves finished the match with an overall .158 hitting percentage and a 52 percent sideout percentage. The Black and Gold posted 41 kills compared to the Patriots' 28 kills.
Francis Marion was led by Amanda Mitchell with seven kills, while Nicole Bennett had 21 assists. Hallie Legg registered 12 digs for the Patriots.
UNCP will return to action on Friday when it hosts conference opponent Augusta State (14-16, 5-7) in the English E. Jones Center with the match set to start at 7 p.m.
Full video replay found HERE.
