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SAVANNAH, Ga. – Nationally-ranked Armstrong Atlantic used an overwhelming attack, registering a .320 hitting percentage, en route to a three-set shutout over the UNC Pembroke volleyball team on Friday night inside of the ARC. Set scores were 25-15, 25-13 and 25-21.
The Pirates (17-0, 9-0 PBC) remain perfect on the season and have won nine-straight matches against the Lady Braves (11-13, 2-8).
"We waited too long to show up and start playing. We have to eliminate our mistakes in order to be successful," said UNCP head coach Angie Byrd.
UNCP was led by Sabrina Gonzalez with seven kills, while Marissa Baker added six kills for the Black and Gold offense. Defensively the Lady Braves leaned on three block assists from Cecilia Brandon, and 10 digs from Danielle Brown. Keeping the hitters active, Shekinah-Joy Toloumu dished out 25 assists.
Armstrong opened the match hitting .455 in the first set, paced by the hitting of Kristen Holmes. Holmes turned in 13 kills for a .706 hitting percentage. Jessica Santaniello and Setphanie Sfara contributed 10 kills apiece to the Pirates' winning effort. Megan Pando distributed the ball for the offense, collected 41 assists. As a team, the Pirates finished with eight service aces and seven total blocks.
UNCP was able to keep the opening set close until Caitlynn King helped the Pirates to take a 15-9 lead. Armstrong maintained its lead the rest of way, finishing set one with a kill from Sfara. King set the pace in the second set after serving seven-straight points for the Pirates, who never trailed the Lady Braves in set two. UNCP took advantage of a few Armstrong errors in the third stanza and jumped out to a 5-1 advantage. The Pirates worked their way back on top, and despite a 4-0 run from Caroline Pridgen, Armstrong closed out the match on a kill from Sfara.
The Lady Braves return to the court tomorrow afternoon in a double header against PBC foe Flagler (12-7, 8-4) at noon, followed by a matchup with Florida Tech (12-5) at 2:30 p.m., both matches will be played in the Flagler Gymnasium.
