PEMBROKE — Belmont Abbey hit .212 in the opening set and logged 13 kills, but the UNC Pembroke volleyball team bounced back and won the following three sets to take a 3-1 (14-25, 25-14, 25-19, 25-13) victory over the Crusaders on Saturday afternoon at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.

The victory for the Braves (10-7, 5-2 CC) marked the fourth consecutive win and improve to 10-6 all-time against the Crusaders. Belmont Abbey (1-13, 1-5 CC) have now lost their last four contests and fall to 1-6 when playing on the road.

Belmont Abbey got a quick start taking an 11-1 first-set lead after a service ace from Lily Marsh. UNC Pembroke cut its deficit back to 16-10 following a kill from Vanja Przulj, but the next six points went to the Crusaders to stay in control of the set, and Belmont Abbey won 25-14.

UNCP went on a 5-0 scoring surge in the second set to take a 15-8 lead off of a kill from Emma Fraidenburg. BAC stayed in the set with a kill from Cameron Young, but the Braves pushed their lead out to 22-12 with a kill from Abby Peduzzi while hitting .444 from the net, and took the set 25-14.

In the third set, UNC Pembroke took a quick 8-3 lead after a Belmont Abbey attack error, but four straight points for the Crusaders cut their deficit back to 8-7. Abby Peduzzi’s kill extended the UNCP lead out to 17-12. BAC hit just .023 from the net while UNCP hit .222 from the net and won five of the final seven points of the set to win 25-19.

The Braves put together six straight points and took a 15-6 fourth-set lead following a Belmont Abbey attack error. The Crusaders trimmed their deficit back to 17-12, but the Braves closed out the match at 25-13 after securing the final six points.

Przulj led the Braves with 20 kills and had 11 digs and two blocks, Peduzzi had 11 kills, Ruby Countryman had seven kills and four blocks, Katie Pressley had 41 assists, Hope Turbyfill had 20 digs and Katelynn Swain had two blocks.

The Braves will be back in action on Wednesday when they host rival Mount Olive (11-5, 5-0 CC) for Fiesta Night. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court.

Bell helps lead Braves soccer past Chowan

The Braves wasted no time Saturday afternoon, as Mercy Bell took a ball from Anna Grossheim and found the back of the net in the second minute to start the scoring in UNCP’s 3-0 win over Chowan in Murfreesboro.

Ashleigh Harris scored her first goal of the season, before Bell added her second goal of the match to round out the scoring.

Abigail Lowry tallied two assists for the Black & Gold, while Anna Grossheim recorded one assist, the 28th of her career, one away from tying the UNCP career record.

The Braves (5-3-1, 4-1-1 CC) moved to 10-1-0 all-time against the Hawks (1-5-0, 1-3-0 CC), and have won the last ten matches against Chowan since their defeat in the very first meeting in 2002.

The early Braves goal came as Grossheim played a long ball to Bell, who dribbled around the Chowan goalkeeper that was off her line, and finished into a wide open net to start the scoring.

Harris took control of an Lowry deflected shot in the 15th minute, then found an opening between two defenders to find the back of the net.

In the 65th minute, Lowry headed a ball ahead to Bell, who touched a shot over the netminder and into the goal to give the match its final result.

Bell tallied a match-high ten shots and a match-high five shots on goal to go along with her brace.

Chiara Coppin made four saves and recorded her 20th career clean sheet.

UNCP more than quadrupled Chowan’s shots, finishing with a 27-6 edge.

Eighteen Braves saw at least ten minutes on the pitch Saturday.

UNCP will hit the road again Saturday, October 7 as they head to Florence, S.C. to take on Francis Marion in the Battle of I-95. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Murray G. Hartzler Soccer Field.

Kosgei wins, women 2nd, men 3rd at Akiah McMillan Invitational

Junior Jackline Kosgei took first place to help the UNC Pembroke women’s cross country team finish second, while a team effort on the men’s side saw them take third Saturday morning at the Akiah McMillian Invitational hosted by Columbia College.

Kosgei crossed in 22:18.7 to lead the Braves in the 6K race, while newcomer Michela Gritti finished ninth at 24:03.8. Freshman Malea Bennewitz (24:57.5) finished 17th, sophomore Karen Piro (25:24.6) crossed in 21st, and senior Jazmine Lorenzo (28:03.8) finished 50th. Freshman Mariah Spencer crossed in 62nd at 29:14.0 to round out the women’s side.

Sophomore Elisha Kipsang finished 13th in the men’s 8K race at 26:49.1, with redshirt junior Bryan Viera behind him in 21st at 27:27.8. Freshmen Will Clancey (27:34.1) and Payden Lewis (27:35.4) finished back-to-back at 23rd and 24th, respectively. Redshirt sophomore Christian Whiteside crossed 35th at 28:05.7, junior Gabe Blackwelder was 58th at 29:32.6, with newcomer Conrad Robertson behind them in 67th at 29:58.2. Junior Kevin Vasquez was 81st at 30:41.8 and freshman Daniel Mejias finished 83rd at 30:51.2.

UNCP’s cross country teams will be back in action Friday, October 6 as they head to Charlotte for the Royals XC Challenge hosted by Queens University. Race times are TBD.

Braves swimming leads after strong first day at King Invitational

The UNC Pembroke swimming team eclipsed three school records while also recording a pair of NCAA B Standard times to highlight action on the opening day of the King Invitational on Saturday at the Kingsport Aquatics Center.

The Braves tallied 664.0 points and are currently leading the nine-team invitational.

Britta Schwengle climbed to the top of the podium in all 500-yard Freestyle with a time of 5:03.07 for her first NCAA B Standard time of the season. The Aruba native also picked up a first-place finish in the 200-yard Backstroke with a school record time of 2:07.56.

Newcomer Benedetta Pepe Pugliese claimed top honors in the 200-yard Individual Medley and the 200-yard Breaststroke. Pepe Pugliese broke school records in both events, while also recording an NCAA B Standard time in the 200-yard Breaststroke.

UNCP won nine events during Saturday’s competition while also tallying 17 personal-best times. The Braves will close out action on Sunday at the King Invitational.