PEMBROKE – Freshman Mckala Bozman led the UNC Pembroke volleyball team with 10 kills, but the visiting Columbus State Cougars used a comeback after falling in set one for the 3-1 win over the Braves on Friday evening on Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court in Peach Belt Conference action. The set scores were 25-19, 20-25, 19-25 and 23-25.

The loss marked a split for the two squads in the series this season as UNCP (8-23, 3-13 PBC) captured the 3-0 win over Columbus State (5-24, 2-15) on October 17. UNCP bid farewell to seniors Nicole Mathews and Cecilia Brandon prior to the contest. The Cougars snapped a four-game losing streak with its second-conference win of the season.

Sophomore Cayce Bell was behind 17 digs, while senior Mathews added 14 for the Braves. Setters Alicia Paeplow and Bailee Jones posted 14 and 13 assists, respectively, while Jones logged five of the team's nine service aces. Mathews also tallied eight kills with Jada Vernon contributing seven. UNCP finished the contest hitting .083 with 37 kills and three team blocks.

The Black and Gold utilized strong serving by Jones along with a four attack errors on Columbus State in the first set to gather a five-point run for the win. The Cougars out-hit the Braves, 11-7, in the first set, but committed 11 errors and posted a .000 hitting percentage.

The Cougars used a comeback to take the next three sets after out-hitting the Braves with 52 kills and a .182 hitting percentage along with eight team blocks. Megan Frame and Savannah Miller registered 17 and 15 kills, respectively, with Kylie Beaubien added nine. Cori Ehmen dished out 42 assists and had 17 digs for the team's only double-double. Two other Cougars had double-digit digs, while four had three block assists.

The Braves will return to the court on Saturday for the final match of the regular season against PBC opponent Montevallo (19-12, 10-7) on Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court at noon.