PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke volleyball team split a pair of matches to open its 2013 home campaign on Sunday afternoon inside of the English E. Jones Center. The Lady Braves dropped the opener against Flagler, before sweeping Pfeiffer in the second match of the day.

UNCP (4-6, 0-1 PBC) went to four sets with the Saints (4-4, 1-0), with set scores of 18-25, 27-25, 19-25 and 18-25, but then shut out the Falcons (1-7), 25-18, 25-16 and 26-24. Flagler has never lost a match against the Lady Braves, improving to 12-0 in the all-time series, while UNCP has now won five-straight against Pfeiffer and better to 21-4 all-time against the Falcons.

"I think because it was our first home match we came out a little nervous in the beginning. A couple people had the jitters and we were playing timid. We talked about it and were able to fix what did wrong and capitalize in the second match," said UNCP head coach Angie Byrd. "We're very young this year, we only have one returner, so it's just going to take some time to build up the confidence. Once we get the confidence going, we're going to be fine."

In the first match of the day, Sabrina Gonzalez led the team and notched her fifth double-double of the season, finishing with 10 kills and 22 digs. Marissa Baker and Caroline Pridgen each chipped in nine kills, as Shekinah-Joy Toloumu also finished with a double-double with 38 assists and 11 digs. The Flagler defense out-blocked the Black and Gold, totaling 14 team blocks compared to just 6-1/2 from the UNCP. Flagler received a game-high 15 kills and 11 kills from Emilee Taylor and Abby Meyers, respectively.

The Lady Braves made Flagler work to earn set point in the first game of the day, forcing six different set point attempts. Baker started a run for UNCP with a kill before going on to serve four-straight points while the Saints fought to win the set. In the second set, UNCP kept fighting even after Flagler once again reached set point. Morgan Westphal led the Lady Braves on a three-point run to take a 25-24 lead, and Gonzalez would help UNCP win the set with a kill. Despite a strong start to set number three, the Lady Braves were outmatched Flagler who earned the set three victory on a service ace from Caitlyn Kovach. The final set Taylor helped the Saints jump out to a 6-2 lead after four-consecutive service aces and would decide the match in favor of the saints with a kill.

"We came out pretty strong against Pfeiffer. The game plan was to play tough defense, block the ball and never let anything hit the floor, so that's what we capitalized on," said Byrd.

The second match saw an excellent defensive effort from the Black and Gold, who finished with 10 team blocks, including seven block assists from Cecilia Brandon. Toloumu recorded back-to-back double-doubles, totaling 33 assists and 15 digs. Pridgen led the way on offense with10 kills, while Gonzalez and Brandon added eight kills and seven kills, respectfully. The Falcons got a team-best seven kills apiece from Milana Mervosh and Anna Vizvary, and Haley Denny tallied a game-high 23 digs.

Baker helped the Lady Braves earn an 11-7 advantage over the Falcons in the first set with a kill followed by serving four-consecutive points. UNCP would hang on to the lead through the rest of the set and claim the final two points off of Pfeiffer errors. Brandon set the tempo for the Black and Gold in the second set, coming up big at the net with four kills and three block assists for UNCP. In the final set, the Lady Braves sprung ahead of the Falcons, 13-9, after a 5-0 run from Baker. Pfeiffer would not back down and forced three different match point attempts from the Black and Gold, but UNCP would prevail capitalizing on an error from the Falcons to win the match.

UNCP returns to the court on Tuesday for tri-match featuring Virginia State (0-4) and Coker (3-5). All matches will be played inside of the English E. Jones Center. Match times are scheduled for 3:30 p.m. (UNCP vs. Virginia State), 5:30 p.m. (Virginia State vs. Coker) and 7:30 (UNCP vs. Coker)

To watch the full game of UNCP vs. Flagler click HERE.

To watch the full game of Flagler vs. Pfeiffer click HERE.

To watch the full game of UNCP vs. Pfeiffer click HERE.