FLORENCE, S.C. – Madelyn Ashwell almost doubled her career high in digs, Tyler Fitzpatrick racked up a season-high in kills and the UNC Pembroke volleyball squad won their second five-set match of the season in a duel with Chowan at the Francis Marion Invitational Friday afternoon. The Braves fell in four sets to Belmont Abbey in the day's first match.

MATCH ONE INFORMATION
Score: UNC Pembroke 1, Belmont Abbey 3 (13-25, 19-25, 25-21, 16-25)
Records: UNC Pembroke (1-6); Belmont Abbey (3-2)
Location: Smith University Center

HOW IT HAPPENED
Box Score/Play-by-Play

FIRST SET
-The Braves and Crusaders played the first 18 rallies to a 9-9 tie, with neither side leading by more than two at any point.
-Belmont Abbey turned on the jets from there, claiming 16 of the final 20 points, including nine of the last 10, to grab a 1-0 lead in the match.

SECOND SET
-A bad set and a pair of Crusader attack errors put the Black & Gold out front 7-3 and UNCP held that four-point advantage through 10-6.
-The next five points went in favor of Belmont Abbey to give the Crusaders an 11-10 lead, but the Braves battled back to win six of the next nine rallies to jump back in front at 16-14.
-Showing their closing ability once again, the Crusaders went on a 5-0 run to reclaim the lead at 19-16 before winning six of the last eight points to go up 2-0 in the match.

THIRD SET
-Refusing to go down without a fight, the Braves turned a 6-3 deficit in the third set into a 9-6 lead with six-straight points, including two kills and a pair of services aces from freshman Miranda Cada.
-Up 12-9 and looking to put away the set, UNCP went on an impressive 10-1 run to claim a 22-10 lead and take full control of the third stanza.
-Five of the 10 points during the run were Black & Gold kills, with two coming from Makaylah Elliott and one each from Tyler Fitzpatrick, Madelyn Ashwell and Aquia Jones.
-Belmont Abbey put together an 11-2 run of its own to claw back to within three at 24-21, but a Savannah Bean kill slammed the door on the comeback attempt and locked up the UNCP set victory.

FOURTH SET
-Three kills and a service ace on four-consecutive points put the Braves out front 6-4 looking to force a decisive fifth set.
-The Crusaders erased all hope of a fifth set with an 8-0 run at 14-11 to increase their lead to 22-11 and all but wrap up their 3-1 match victory.

NOTABLES
-UNCP held a 6-4 advantage in blocks, paced by five from Elliott, which is just one off her season high.
-Belmont Abbey hit .307 as a team, highlighted by a .619 hitting percentage in the opening set (14 kills, 1 error, 21 total attacks).
-The Braves recorded their highest hitting percentage of the match in the third set at .185 and compiled a .092 percentage across all four sets.
-Elliott led all Braves with seven kills, while Tyler Fitzpatrick tacked on six and a .429 hitting percentage (0 errors, 14 total attacks).

MATCH TWO INFORMATION
Score: UNC Pembroke 3, Chowan 2 (25-20, 18-25, 25-14, 23-25, 15-13)
Records: UNC Pembroke (2-6); Chowan (0-5)
Location: Smith University Center

HOW IT HAPPENED
Box Score/Play-by-Play

FIRST SET
-Ashwell put the Braves on the board first with a kill on the set's first rally and three Chowan attack errors later, UNCP found itself with a 4-0 lead.
-A mini 3-0 run with kills from Aquia Jones and Bean extended the Braves' lead to five at 15-10 before the Black & Gold took four of five points to grab a commanding 22-13 advantage.
-Elliott's kill on set point capped off a 25-20 victory to put UNCP up 1-0 in the match.

SECOND SET
-It was the Hawks who started fast in set two, claiming the first three points and six of the first eight to lead 6-2.
-Three-straight UNCP kills (Bean, Ashwell and Aquia Jones) drew the Braves back within one at 6-5 and the UNCP deficit was just two 22 points in at 12-10.
-Seven of the next nine rallies went to Chowan to give the Hawks a 19-12 lead and they would go on to win the set by that same margin.

THIRD SET
-Down 6-5 in third, the Braves found an extra gear and rattled off nine-straight points and 11 of 12 to turn the one-point deficit into a 16-7 lead that was capped off by a block from Elliott and Fitzpatrick.
-The UNCP lead was cut to seven at 21-14, but the Black & Gold used kills from Ashwell and Aquia Jones along with two Hawk attack errors to claim the final four points of the set and win 25-14.

FOURTH SET
-A comeback for the ages fell just short for the Black & Gold in the fourth after trailing 14-4.
-The Braves came all the way to back to knot the set at 23-23 by winning 12 of 15 points, capped off by a block from Elliott and Fitzpatrick.
-Chowan's Cheryl Thomas picked up a kill to set up a set point and a service ace from Brittany Tschida ended the UNCP comeback attempt two points short.

FIFTH SET
-UNCP quickly grabbed a 6-3 lead in the decisive set thanks to kills from Fitzpatrick, Bean and Ashwell.
-The Hawks then rallied for six-straight points to flip the lead to 9-6 in their favor.
-Three-straight kills from Fitzpatrick (two) and Elliott brought the Braves back even at 10-10, forcing Chowan to call a timeout.
-The teams traded the next six points to bring the set to a 13-13 tie before back-to-back Chowan attack errors sealed UNCP's second victory of the season.

NOTABLES
-The Braves improve to 2-0 in five-set matches this season after going the distance with Converse Tuesday evening in Pembroke.
-Fitzpatrick racked up a season-high 11 kills and added a pair of sigs and three block assists.
-Ashwell tacked on nine kills, one shy of a double-double with a career-high 21 digs.
-UNCP had more blocks than an opponent for the sixth time in eight matches, out blocking Chowan 9-5.

UP NEXT
Due to the incoming threat of Hurricane Irma, the Braves will now have six days off before lifting the lid on Peach Belt Conference play next Friday, Sept. 15 at Lander at 7 p.m. The Bearcats (4-1) swept a pair of matches from UNCP last season, winning 3-0 at home on Sept. 17 and 3-0 in Pembroke on Oct. 4.