PEMBROKE – Coming off a 3-0 shutout of USC Aiken on Friday, the UNCP volleyball team continued its success on the court by using a 60 percent sideout percentage and a defense that held the visiting Lander Bearcats to a .017 hitting percentage on Saturday afternoon in the English E. Jones Center.
Freshman Chelsea Phillips lit up the net as she registered her second double-double of the season with a personal-best 15 kills on 36 attacks and 11 digs en route to the Lady Braves (8-7, 2-0 PBC) posting another 3-0 victory with scores of 25-22, 25-19 and 25-21.
"It's hard to play successful back-to-back matches especially when playing conference opponents," said UNCP head coach Jeff Billington. "I was concerned about today's match because we played well yesterday and our cohesion just beginning."
The Lady Braves defense held Lander (7-7, 1-2) to 25 kills on 119 attempts while the Black and Gold totaled 21 blocks as well as the squad's 67 digs which is the third-highest posted this season. Libero Marissa Baker totaled half of the team's total digs with 32 while setter Ashlyn Rebok collected two of the three solo blocks and led the Lady Braves with 27 assists.
Freshman Hannah Hill was behind three of the block assists as Rebok, Tricia Varno, and Shay Peterson each collected two block assists. UNCP was indestructible at the net in game three as the Black and Gold left the Bearcats behind on four needed blocks and a speeding kill by Allie Schneider.
"I was telling the girls from the beginning of the game that we needed to block better and we did. I was really happy with our performance because it was a momentum changer for the team."
Mallory Wasik held a team-high nine kills for the Bearcats while Jessica Register totaled 23 assists. Four Bearcats tallied double digit digs during the game. Lander posted four block assists and a 50 percent sideout percentage.
UNCP will make the short trip to battle PBC rival Francis Marion on Wednesday in Florence S.C. at the Smith University Center with the match beginning at 7 p.m.
