Related: Volleyball Eases Past Virginia Union
PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke volleyball team rallied back from an opening-set loss by capturing three of the final four sets as the Braves overcame 35 attack errors on the evening to top Mount Olive in five sets (22-25, 26-24, 25-17, 25-27, 15-12) on Wednesday evening in the English E. Jones Center.
The triumph helped stretch UNCP's winning streak out to three matches, while also helping the Braves (14-15) finish out a season sweep of Mount Olive. It was the ninth loss in the last 11 outings for the Trojans (6-18) who fell to 5-26 all-time in the series with the Black & Gold.
Nicole Mathews led the offensive efforts for the hosts by registering her 16th double-double performance of the season with 15 kills and 16 digs, while Cecilia Brandon hit .344, tallied 14 kills and provided a team-best seven block assists. Jada Vernon and Caroline Pridgen each recorded 11 kills, while Sabrina Gonzalez finished the night with 53 assists.
Britni Johnson turned in a double-double with 22 kills and 17 digs for the visitors who could not overcome 32 attack and nine service errors in the contest. Montgomery Register tallied 10 kills of her own, while Aubrey McKinney finished with 32 assists.
After dropping the opening set of the night by a 25-22 margin, the Braves rebounded to post a 26-24 win in the second set, before taking advantage of 10 attack errors by the Trojans en route to a dominant 25-17 victory in the third set.
UNCP showed its dominance again in the fourth set by skating out to an 18-11 advantage, but the Trojans knotted the match back up with a miraculous run that saw them fight off a match point service by the hosts as well. Mount Olive would, inevitably, tally 16 of the set's final 25 points to force a deciding fifth set.
Mount Olive forged a 6-2 lead in the final set of the night, but could not hold off the Braves. UNCP rallied to even the set up at 10 points apiece and took the lead for good, 12-11, on an untimely attack error by the visitors.
The Braves will close out a three-match home stand on Friday when they welcome I-95 rival Francis Marion (6-15, 3-9 PBC) to Pembroke for a 7 p.m. matchup in the English E. Jones Center. Admission to all 2014 UNCP volleyball home matches is free.
