NEWBERRY, S.C. – The UNC Pembroke volleyball squad lifted the lid on the 2017 season on Friday, dropping a pair of matches to host Newberry and Southern Wesleyan at the Newberry College Invitational.

MATCH 1
Score: Newberry 3, UNC Pembroke 0 (18-25, 16-25, 21-25)
Records: Newberry (1-0); UNC Pembroke (0-1)
Location: Eleazer Arena

HOW IT HAPPENED
Box Score/Play-by-Play

FIRST SET
-The host Wolves hit the ground running and took a 5-0 lead on two kills, two service aces and an error.
-UNCP rebounded by scoring nine of 13 points to pull even at 13-13.
-Four-straight Newberry points gave the Wolves a 19-14 lead that they would never relinquish.
-The Braves' .097 hitting percentage was their highest of the match.

SECOND SET
-Eleven of the first 14 points went Newberry's way and the Braves never pulled closer than five.
-Newberry hit a match-high .500 with 16 kills and just three errors.

THIRD SET
-After leading 5-4, the Black & Gold dropped seven-straight rallies to trail 11-5.
-UNCP rattled off six-straight points of its own to take a 13-12 lead, but dropped six of the next seven.
-The Braves racked up a team-high 12 kills to match Newberry's 12.

KEY STATS
-The Black & Gold put up 6.5 blocks, led by Madelyn Ashwell with a pair.
-In her first action in a Braves' uniform, transfer Amber Tyndall tied a match high with 10 kills.
-Junior Bailee Jones led all Braves with 17 assists, as Ashwell tacked up a team-best nine digs.

MATCH 2
Score: Southern Wesleyan 3, UNC Pembroke 0 (21-25, 24-26, 20-25)
Records: Southern Wesleyan (1-1); UNC Pembroke (0-2)
Location: Eleazer Arena

HOW IT HAPPENED
Box Score/Play-by-Play

FIRST SET
-Southern Wesleyan built its biggest lead at 11-6 and held that advantage again at 22-17.
-UNCP put a scare in the Warriors with three-consecutive points to pull within two at 22-20, but three of the next four rallies went in favor of Southern Wesleyan.
-The Braves' 17 kills were the most in any of their six sets played on Friday.

SECOND SET
-A back-and-forth affair was never separated by more than three points until a 19-15 Southern Wesleyan lead.
-Down 23-17, UNCP used two kills and three SWU errors to pull within one before an SWU kill stopped the run.
-Two Black & Gold points gave UNCP its first tie since 10-10, but the Warriors' Olivia Johnson put down back-to-back kills to secure the set victory.

THIRD SET
-The Braves led by as many as three (15-12) and as late as 19-18.
-Southern Wesleyan closed the match in fashion with seven of the final eight points going their way.

KEY STATS
-UNCP had more kills (43-41), blocks (7-5), assists (43-40) and digs (50-39) than the Warriors.
-Makaylah Elliot led the way with a match-high 13 kills and a .545 hitting percentage.
-Jones once again led all Braves with 24 assists, while Anna Heinz had a team-high 13 digs.

UP NEXT
The Braves are back in action on day two of the Newberry College Invitational on Saturday. UNCP takes on Coker at 1 p.m. before doing battle with North Greenville at 5 p.m.