MONTEVALLO, Ala. – The UNC Pembroke volleyball team attempted a comeback in the third set, but was stopped short by Montevallo as the Falcons picked up the 4-set Peach Belt Conference victory on Saturday night inside of the Trustmark Arena.
Montevallo (12-5, 5-3) jumped out to an early lead taking the first two sets, 25-21 and 25-17, but UNCP ( 9-11, 2-6) would strike back to win the third set, 25-17. The Falcons won the match after a 25-17 fourth-set victory. The Lady Braves have lost three in a row to the Falcons. Montevallo improves to 8-1 in the all-time series.
UNCP's offense was led by Morgan Westphal, who notched a team-best 10 kills. As a unit, the Black and Gold totaled 45 kills. Shekinah-Joy Toloumu kept the hitters active, dishing out 41 assists. Defensively, Cecilia Brandon turned in one solo block and one block assist, while Danielle Brown collected a match-high 28 digs.
Michelle Carle paced the Montevallo attack, totaling 13 kills. Many Ati and Rebekah Phelps contributed to the winning effort with 10 kills apiece. The Falcons won the contest at the net, tallying eight blocks, compared to just three from UNCP.
Hannah Christie opened up the first set by serving four-consecutive points for the Falcons, and Montevallo was able to control the tempo the remainder of the frame. The Falcons led the entire way, finishing off the set with a kill from Phelps. In the second set Kaleigh Harvey helped the Falcons' offense start rolling by sparking a 5-0 run. Montevallo made the most of multiple attacking errors by the Lady Braves in set two, as the set ended with four unanswered points from Ati.
UNCP dominated the third set from the beginning, after five points served up by Toloumu gave the Lady Braves a 6-1 lead advantage. Another five points from Sabrina Gonzalez helped the Black and Gold extend its lead over the Falcons to 14-8. Brown brought UNCP within set point, but Montevallo would force the Lady Braves to take more than one attempt at set point, ultimately claiming the set after a Falcons' serving error.
The Lady Braves started out on top in the fourth stanza taking a 4-8 lead, but Anna Quinn would bring the Falcons back into the set with eight-straight points. Once Montevallo regained the lead at 10-8 they never trailed the Black and Gold, finding match point on a Carle kill.
The Black and Gold look to rebound tomorrow as they return to the courts to face PBC newcomer Columbus State (11-7, 4-4) in Columbus, Ga., for a 2 p.m. match held inside Lumpkin Center.
