PEMBROKE – The UNC Pembroke volleyball team hit .246 at the net and registered 11 service aces on the afternoon, and the Braves rallied back from an early deficit to clinch at least a share of the Conference Carolinas East Division title with a 3-2 triumph over North Greenville on Saturday.
It was the 10
th home win of the season for the Braves (18-13, 15-2) who closed out the regular season portion of Conference Carolinas play with a school-record victory total against league foes. It was the second loss in the last three outings for the Crusaders (19-10, 14-3) who fell to 10-9 away from Tigerville, S.C. this season.
| MATCH SUMMARY |
| FINAL SCORE |
UNC Pembroke 3, North Greenville 2 (25-11, 25-27, 19-25, 25-22, 15-11) |
| RECORDS |
UNC Pembroke 18-13, 15-2 CC, North Greenville 19-10, 14-3 CC) |
| ARENA |
Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court (Pembroke, N.C.) |
| MATCH REPLAY |
| SET 1 I 25-11 |
The Braves hit nearly .400 at the net in the opening set, but it was a 12-2 run midway through the stanza that dealt the most damage. The Crusaders climbed to within 10 points, 20-10, on Paige Campbell's kill, but the Braves scored five of the last six points of the set, and finished it off with big block assists from Brianna Warren and Shannon Skryd. |
| SET 2 I 25-27 |
UNCP took an early 9-5 lead following a service ace from Brianna Warren, but North Greenville tacked up five of the next six points to knot things up and make it a back-and-forth affair after that. The hosts fought off a trio of late set points, but the Crusaders used a kill and an ensuing attack error to inevitably even up the match. |
| SET 3 I 19-25 |
North Greenville used an early 8-2 run to eventually forge an 11-5 lead, and then hit cruise control after that on the way to taking control of the afternoon. The Braves got as close as two points, 16-14, thanks to a service ace from Shannon Skryd, but the Crusaders pushed their lead back out to six, 21-15, a few minutes later. |
| SET 4 I 25-22 |
North Greenville broke a 16-16 tie with four-straight points, but the Braves scored three consecutive points of their own to force a timeout by the visitors. The Black & Gold scored three-straight points come out of the timeout to storm ahead, 23-21, and then evened up the afternoon with consecutive points off of the hand of Morgan Gibbs |
| SET 5 I 15-11 |
UNCP hit a blistering .500 at the net in the deciding set, and finished off the afternoon with three-straight points. The Braves scored the first three points of the stanza and never trailed, despite the Crusaders battling back to even up the set at seven apiece. |
| INSIDE THE BOX SCORE |
| KILLS |
Brianna Warren (14), Vanja Przulj (14), Shannon Skryd (13) |
| ASSISTS |
Morgan Gibbs (56), Katie Pressley (3), Shannon Skryd (2) |
| DIGS |
Katie Pressley (20), Vanja Przulj (20), Morgan Gibbs (16) |
| BLOCKS |
Shannon Skryd (3), Brianna Warren (2), Erin O'Donnell (1) |
| SERVICE ACES |
Brianna Warren (5), Shannon Skryd (2), Morgan Gibbs (2) |
|
| UP NEXT |
| UNCP will snap the lid on the regular season portion of its 2022 schedule on Tuesday when it suits up to take on Coker (5-17) on Black Out/MVP Night at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. and admission is free. |
| STAY CONNECTED |
| Follow UNCP Volleyball on Twitter and Instagram at @UNCP_Volleyball and "Like" UNCPVolleyball on Facebook. |
