PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke volleyball team snapped a 10-match losing skid with a straight-sets victory against Virginia State fueled by a season-high attack percentage before outlasting St. Andrews in a thrilling, five-set match behind a season-best 57 kills to cap off a Saturday afternoon in Pembroke.

MATCH ONE INFORMATION
Score: UNC Pembroke 3, Virginia State 0 (25-23, 25-12, 25-18)
Records: UNC Pembroke (5-24); Virginia State (9-14)
Location: Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court
Series: UNC Pembroke leads 6-0

HOW IT HAPPENED
Box Score/Play-by-Play

FIRST SET
-An Aquia Jones kill put the Braves up 24-21, but Virginia State used a pair of kills from Hailey Heyward in the next two rallies to pull within one at 24-23.
-UNCP took advantage of its first match point when Aquia Jones unleashed her fifth kill of the set and third in the final-three Black & Gold points to win the set 25-23.

SECOND SET
-The Braves dismissed the Trojans early in the second set by rattling off eight of the first 10 points and put together another 8-2 run to end the set at 25-12.

THIRD SET
-The Black & Gold jumped out to an early lead again in the third with seven-straight points after trailing 3-1 to grab an 8-3 advantage.
-The Trojans closed the deficit to three at 17-14, but UNCP put the match on ice with a pair of Madelyn Ashwell kills for points 24 and 25.

NOTABLES
-The victory snaps a 10-match losing streak that dated back to Oct. 7.
-The Braves' .344 hitting percentage is their highest of the season, while their seven errors set a new low for the campaign.
-UNCP hit at least .265 in all three sets, highlighted by a .462 clip in the second stanza. Virginia State hit .116 for the match and .000 in the second set.
-Aquia Jones and April Tankersley each logged 10 kills and Jones' .625 attack percentage was a career-high mark. Tankersley tacked on three block assists, one service ace and one assist, while Jones notched one block assist and one dig.
-Bailee Jones handed out 20 assists and Miranda Cada added 13, while Cayce Bell logged a team-high 12 digs.

MATCH TWO INFORMATION
Score: UNC Pembroke 3, St, Andrews 2 (20-25, 25-19, 25-23, 19-25, 15-13)
Records: UNC Pembroke (6-24); St. Andrews (20-10)
Location: Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court
Series: UNC Pembroke leads 26-24

HOW IT HAPPENED
Box Score/Play-by-Play

FIRST SET
-A rare Cayce Bell kill (her fourth of the season) pulled the Braves within one at 13-12, but the Knights racked up five-straight points to increase the lead to six.
-The Black & Gold saved four set points down 24-16, but a Destiny O'Kane kill closed out a 25-20 first-set victory for St. Andrews.

SECOND SET
-Down 12-9 after an attack error, the Braves turned the tables and won seven-straight and 10 of the next 11 points to grab a 19-13 lead and closed out the set on back-to-back kills by Makaylah Elliott.

THIRD SET
-The Braves called timeout down 23-17 and just two points from a 2-1 hole, but rattled off eight-points after the stoppage to complete the comeback and win the set 25-23.

FOURTH SET
-The Knights used an 8-2 run to snatch a 12-6 lead, but 10 of the next 11 rallies went to the Braves to give the hosts a 16-13 lead.
-A 9-1 St. Andrews run put the guests ahead 22-17 and the Knights capped off a 25-19 victory with a block on their second set point.

FIFTH SET
-Michelle Voyer put the Braves up three at 14-11 before St. Andrews used a kill and a block to pull within one, but Voyer answered the call again on UNCP's third match point with her eighth kill of the match.

NOTABLES
-The win gives the Braves back-to-back victories for the first time since Oct. 31 and Nov. 3 of 2015 when the Black & Gold knocked off Claflin and Coker in consecutive outings.
-Half of the Braves' wins this season have now come in five sets and UNCP improves to 3-2 in matches that go the distance.
-The Braves edged St. Andrews in kills (57-53), hitting percentage (.133-.129) blocks (10-8), assists (56-51) and digs (86-80). The 57 kills set a new season high and are the most for UNCP since 69 on Sept. 11, 2015.  
-Elliott paced the Braves with 13 kills and eight blocks and added three assists and four digs.
-Aquia Jones made it back-to-back matches with double-digit kills, as the junior logged 11 in the victory.
-Ashwell tacked on 10 kills and 21 digs for her fourth double-double of the season. She also notched a trio of service aces, two block assists and an assist.

UP NEXT
The Braves hit the road for the final time in the regular season on Wednesday with a trip to Winston-Salem to take on the Rams of Winston-Salem State. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at the Whitaker Gymnasium. The Rams (17-6) are winners of six of their last eight matches and knocked off Virginia State in four sets on Sept. 30. UNCP leads the all-time series 10-0 over WSSU, dating back to the first meeting in 1981. Wednesday's contest will be the first meeting between the schools since a 3-0 Black & Gold victory in Winston-Salem on Sept. 25, 2014.