MONTEVALLO, Ala. – The UNC Pembroke volleyball team won the second set Saturday afternoon at Trustmark Arena, but dropped a four-set Peach Belt Conference (PBC) affair to Montevallo, 13-25, 25-23, 15-25, 16-25.

A .200 hitting percentage in the second stanza led the Braves (2-23, 0-12 PBC) to their first set victory in league play since Oct. 1, while the Falcons (12-10, 4-7 PBC) move into a tie for eighth in the conference standings with the win. The top eight teams make the PBC Tournament set to begin Nov. 18.

Montevallo jumped on top quick, winning 15 of the first 18 points in the opening set. UNCP bounced back in the second set, running up a 23-17 advantage before the hosts rattled off six-straight points to knot the set at 23-23. The Braves used a kill from freshman Makaylah Elliott to produce set point and the Falcons registered an attack error to end the set.

The Black & Gold held Montevallo to a .051 hitting percentage in that second set, but the Falcons hit .264 overall to UNCP's .115. The Braves' 41 kills are the most in the last eight matches and their 157 attack attempts are the second-most this season.

Senior Caroline Pridgen racked up double-digit kills (12) for the seventh time this season and added three blocks. Elliott notched nine kills, while junior Cayce Bell set a career high with seven. Sophomore Bailee Jones paced UNCP with 20 assists, the seventh time this year she's dished out 20 or more. Senior Alicia Paeplow put together a 19-assist, six-dig, five-kill day and also had the Braves' only two service aces. Senior Josephine Yang registered a team-best 22 digs, followed by freshman Anna Heinz (15) and Bell (14).

The Braves open a three-match home stand Friday, hosting Augusta at 7 p.m. at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court. The Jaguars (13-8, 5-3 PBC) took down UNCP in four sets earlier this season in Augusta, Georgia.