COLUMBUS STATE – The visiting UNC Pembroke volleyball team gathered 19 kills and 19 digs from junior Nicole Mathews, but the Columbus State Cougars utilized a .219 hitting percentage to defeat the Braves, 3-1, on Friday evening in Peach Belt Conference action in the Lumpkin Center.
With the loss, UNCP (16-20, 3-14 PBC) snapped a two-game winning streak and split the series with Columbus State (13-14, 8-9) who captured its second-consecutive win. The set scores were 18-25, 22-25, 25-17 and 18-25.
Mathews ended the contest with a .326 hitting percentage, while Cecilia Brandon claimed 10 kills. Freshmen Ka'asha Jefferies and Mallory Davis registered 18 digs and three block assists, respectively, while setter Sabrina Gonzalez logged 35 assists and Josephine Yang led the team with three service aces.
Columbus State out-hit the Braves in the first, second and fourth sets, but UNCP claimed a .394 hitting percentage with 14 kills in the third set. In the third set, serving by Yang and Gonzalez, along with kills by Mathews, Davis and Brandon put the Braves ahead 10-4 and proved to be too much as the squad held off the Cougars for its only set.
A late attempted comeback by UNCP in the opening set was not enough after a 7-3 run following a tied score at the 9-9 mark pushed Columbus State ahead for the remainder of the set. Following a Columbus State timeout with UNCP leading 21-17, the Cougars notched the next eight of nine points to grab the 2-0 lead in set two. Finally in the fourth set, Caroline Pridgen tied the contest at 11-11 on a service ace, but Colubmus State went on a 9-3 run to take the 20-14 lead and close out the game for the win.
The Cougars were led by Kaite Poole and Erika Gelzinyte with 13 kills and Kylie Beaubien with 11, while Gelzinyte was the only player to tally a double-double with 23 digs.
The Braves will close out their season on Saturday with a 1 p.m. conference finale with Montevallo (18-11, 9-7) followed by a 7 p.m. battle with West Georgia (6-23) on the road.
