PEMBROKE — The UNC Pembroke volleyball team needed four sets to pick up their first Conference Carolinas victory of the season defeating Chowan 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-14, 29-27) on Saturday at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court for the UNCP Tri-Match. UNCP committed 33 attack errors against Winston-Salem State, but held on in four sets to defeat the Rams 3-1(25-21, 25-23, 26-28, 25-18) in a non-conference matchup.

The Braves (6-5, 1-0 CC) are now 13-0 all-time against the Hawks (0-8, 0-1 CC), and it is the second consecutive meeting where the match went to four sets. UNCP also improved to a perfect 8-0 record against the Rams (2-5), while it is just the second time in the series that went to four sets.

Against Chowan, UNC Pembroke used a kill from Vanja Przulj to take a 12-7 lead in the first set. The Braves hit .262 from the net in the opening set and pushed their lead out to 21-17 with a kill from Ruby Countryman en route to the 25-21 win.

Chowan took an early 7-3 lead after a trio of attack errors to start the second set. UNCP was able to knot the score at 14 after a Hawks attack midway through the set. Chowan hit .214 from the net while the Braves hit just .083 and the CU took the lead for good after a 6-1 scoring surge to take the set, 25-22.

Pruzlj’s kill gave the Braves a 14-9 advantage in the third set. UNCP hit .267 from the net and used an 8-0 scoring run capped off by a Katelynn Swain service ace to stay in control of the set, winning 25-14.

UNC Pembroke used a kill from Katleyn West to give them a slight 13-10 fourth-set lead. Chowan’s Gigi Ratajesak’s service tied the score at 16 apiece. Chowan hit a match-high .308 from the net, but UNC Pembroke scored the final three points of the set to take the set, 29-27, and the match.

Emma Fraidenburg had 15 kills to lead UNCP, with two blocks. Abby Peduzzi had 13 kills and nine digs, Przulj had 11 kills with two blocks and seven digs, Karagyn Durco had 32 assists, Katie Pressley had 25 assists, Hope Turbyfill had 19 digs and Ruby Countryman had three blocks.

In the Winston-Salem State match, the Rams hit .139 from the net in the first set used an 8-0 scoring run to take a 15-13 lead. UNC Pembroke responded with a 7-2 scoring surge to take a 20-17 lead and stay in control of the first set, ultimately winning 25-21.

The Rams took an early 10-3 lead in the second set after an attack error from the Braves. A Peduzzi kill gave UNCP an 18-15 advantage, but WSSU took the lead with a kill from Raven Gray to go on top 21-20. The hosts closed out the set on a 5-2 run to win 25-23 and take a two-set lead.

The Braves pushed their third-set lead out to 17-12 after an error from the Rams. UNCP fought off set point, but Winston-Salem State scored the final three points of the set to win 28-26 and send it to a fourth set.

UNC Pembroke took a 19-14 lead after a Winston-Salem State attack error in the fourth set. The hosts put together a 5-1 scoring run to push their lead out to 21-17 and hit .189 from the net during the frame to close out the match, 25-18.

Countryman had 15 kills, Anaya Carter had 14 kills, Peduzzi had nine kills, 14 digs and two aces, Durco had 29 assists and 14 digs, Pressley had 22 assists, Turbyfill had 19 digs and seven assists and Katelyn West, Fraidenburg and Katelynn Swain each had two blocks.

The Braves will be back in action on Wednesday when they travel to Florence, South Carolina for the Battle of I-95 with Francis Marion (4-6, 0-0 CC). First serve is set for 6 p.m. inside the Smith University Center.

Braves soccer rallies to beat Lees-McRae

Maria Cancio’s goal in the 76th minute proved to be the game-winner as the UNC Pembroke (3-2-0, 2-0-0 CC) soccer team defeated host Lees-McRae (0-5-0, 0-1-0 CC) 2-1 on Saturday afternoon.

The Braves found themselves down 1-0 in the first half, as Lees-McRae’s Jordan Vaughn found the back of the net in the 30th minute. The Black & Gold responded in the second half with a goal from Morgan Hill in the 68th minute to knot the match.

The game-winner came after a redirected header from Anna Grossheim found the foot of Cancio, who one-touched it into the net to put the Braves up for good.

The result marked UNCP’s fifth win in five tries against the Bobcats.

Hill and Cancio each scored their first goals for the Braves. Grossheim tallied a team-high eight shots, with a match-high three shots on goal.

The Black & Gold took 15 shots as a team, while only allowing four shots by Lees-McRae.

Senior Chiara Coppin recorded two saves, making it the 23rd time in the last 26 appearances the netminder has allowed one or fewer goals.

The Braves will continue Conference Carolinas play on Tuesday as they head to Belmont to take on Belmont Abbey. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Alumni Field.