PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke volleyball team forced visiting GRU Augusta to commit 26 hitting errors, but the Jaguars used a .143 hitting percentage and 46 kills to take a 3-0 shutout victory over the Braves on Senior Night in Peach Belt Conference action on Friday evening.
UNCP (14-19, 2-13 PBC) fell in its fourth-consecutive match as GRU Augusta (22-7, 11-5) extended its winning streak to five games and wrapped up a series sweep of UNCP this season.
Senior Danielle Brown carried a team-best 19 digs, while Josephine Yang added 10 digs and junior Nicole Mathews ended the game with 13 digs and 14 kills to notch the Black and Gold's only double-double of the game. Setter Sabrina Gonzalez joined Jada Vernon and Cecilia Brandon with two block assists, while freshman Mallory Davis registered two solo blocks and three block assists. Gonzalez also finished the game with 26 assists and a pair of service aces along with Yang.
"The team played really hard for me since I am the only senior on the team, but we just couldn't pull it out," said Brown.
In the opening set, GRU Augusta and UNCP both paced each other as points went back and forth until serving by Paige Elliott and Kali Boatwright pushed the Jaguars on an 8-3 run on multiple hitting errors by UNCP and controlled the lead for the remainder of the set.
Despite giving up an early lead to GRU Augusta, the Black and Gold used a strong comeback and tied the game at 21-21 on a service ace by Brown. The Braves came back from two GRU Augusta set points to pull ahead for their own set point at 25-24 on a kill by Mathews. Using a kill from Maggie Darling and a service ace, the Jaguars tied the score up and tallied their third set point, but Gonzalez tipped the ball over the net on the second hit to push the score to 27-27. Another two kills by Katie Beresford and Kristen Koch tipped the set in favor of the Jaguars for the 2-0 lead.
Finally, in set three, UNCP trailed GRU Augusta by seven points at the 13-17 mark, but the Braves slowly inched themselves closer and came to within four points as Vernon slammed down the ball with a 23-19 score. With a final kill by Beresford, the Jaguars finished off the set for the 3-0 win.
UNCP will be back in action on Saturday with a noon start against PBC opponent Georgia College (7-18, 2-14) followed by a 2 p.m. start with regional rival Fayetteville State (14-6) - both inside the English E. Jones Center.
