BELMONT – The UNC Pembroke volleyball team fell to host school Belmont Abbey in five sets after a hard-fought battle on the second day of the Abbey Road Invitational inside of the Wheeler Center.
The Lady Braves (2-5) won the first set 25-23 before falling in set two, 28-26, to Belmont Abbey (5-2). UNCP pulled together a win in set number three, 25-21, but the Crusaders were successful in the final two sets, winning 25-22 and 15-3, respectfully, to claim the match victory. The setback snapped UNCP's six-game win streak against the Crusaders, and marks just the second time Belmont Abbey has beat the Lady Braves all-time.
"We played really hard today. We had moments of greatness and moments of mishaps," said UNCP head coach Angie Byrd. "Unfortunately after a controversial call at the end of set four, we lost our intensity and were never able to regain it."
Despite suffering a setback in the match, the Lady Braves won the advantage on kills and digs, totaling 63 kills and 117 digs. Caroline Pridgen led the way for the Black and Gold on offense with 21 kills and a .366 hitting percentage. Sabrina Gonzalez added 18 kills and a team-best 34 digs, while Danielle Brown chipped in another 32 digs for the UNCP defense. In her first appearance for UNCP, freshman Shekinah-Joy Toloumu ran the offense by dishing out 51 of the Lady Braves' 57 assists.
The Crusader offense was carried Lydia and Hannah Schellenberg who tallied 23 and 22 kills, respectively. Belmont Abbey was solid at the net, finishing with 10 team blocks, including two solo blocks from Tori Jenson.
The first four sets remained extremely close with neither team taking a clear-cut advantage until the final set points. Set number one was tied at 22-22, but back-to-back kills from UNCP brought the Lady Braves within set point. The Black and Gold would finish the set on a kill from Pridgen and take a 1-0 advantage into the second set. Although the Lady Braves trailed 24-21 near the end of set number two, they were able to string together a four-point run, forcing multiple set-point plays. The Crusaders would use a kill and a UNCP error to earn the set two victory.
UNCP saw its best hitting performance in the third set, slamming 18 kills and earning a .261 hitting percentage. Brown gave the Black and Gold the two-point advantage, 15-13, following a 5-0 run. The strong swinging of the Lady Braves would help produce a win in the third set, as UNCP used five kills in the end of the set to go up 2-1 on the Crusaders.
Ana Maria Pagan helped Belmont Abbey pull ahead by seven during set number four, the biggest lead for either team through the first four sets. Pridgen supplied the UNCP offense with four-straight kills to bring the Lady Braves back within two. The Lady Braves couldn't catch up to the Crusaders, as Belmont Abbey forced a fifth set, evening the score out at 2-2.
The final set was all about the Crusaders, who allowed UNCP to score just three points throughout the set. Lydia Schellenberg helped Belmont Abbey to get ahead quick, 6-0, on a serving run, while Stine would put the match away on another run, bringing the Crusaders within one point of the match victory, before a UNCP error would end the match.
