PEMBROKE – For the eight time this season and second match in a row, UNC Pembroke senior Caroline Pridgen registered double digit kills Friday night, but the Braves volleyball squad fell to Augusta in three sets at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court in a Peach Belt Conference (PBC) tilt.

The 14-25, 22-25, 22-25 setback is the seventh consecutive for the Braves (2-24, 0-13 PBC), while the Jaguars (14-9, 6-4 PBC) move into solo fourth in the league standings with the win. Augusta now leads the series 26-22 over UNCP, including the last six in a row.

The guests came out firing in the opening set, hitting .429 with 17 kills and just two errors. Up 8-7, Augusta went on a 5-0 run to stretch the advantage to 13-7 and never looked back. Sets two and three were much more competitive, as the Braves hit .195 and .182, respectively, after a .088 clip in the first stanza. The hosts were within two points at 22-20 in both sets, but the Jaguars used three kills in the final five points each time to secure the victory.

Augusta hit .264 across all three sets, while the Black & Gold compiled a .160 hitting percentage. The .160 clip is UNCP's highest in its last seven contests. The Braves were on the winning end of the dig battle 60-53 but Augusta dished out 44 assists to UNCP's 35 and racked up 47 kills to the Braves' 37. A strong net presence from the Braves allowed them to eke out a 7-6 advantage in blocks.

Pridgen was the only Braves player with double-digit kills at 11, hitting at a .346 clip, and tacked on five digs, two service aces, two blocks and one assist. Senior Alicia Paeplow tied a season and career high with nine kills of her own and added 15 assists and seven digs to the ledger. Sophomroe Bailee Jones paced the UNCP squad with 16 assists and was one dig shy of a double-double. Freshman libero Anna Heinz led the team in digs with 22, a season high.

The Braves return to Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court Saturday for a 2 p.m. duel with Georgia College. The Bobcats (14-8, 5-5 PBC) currently sit fifth in the conference race and have won four of their last five contests. Georgia College holds a 5-2 series advantage over UNCP, including a three-set victory in Milledgeville earlier this season.