UNCP roundup: Braves volleyball beats NGU, clinches share of division title

Oct. 31—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 10th home win of the season for the Braves (18-13, 15-2 CC) 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 CC) who fell to 10-9 away from their Tigerville, South Carolina home this season.

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 at 25-11 with big block assists from Brianna Warren and Shannon Skryd.

UNCP took an early 9-5 lead in the second set 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 win 27-25 and even up the match.

In the third set, 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, and won 25-19.

North Greenville broke a 16-16 fourth-set 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 a 25-22 win after consecutive points off of the hand of Morgan Gibbs.

UNCP hit a blistering .500 at the net in the deciding set to win 15-11, 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.

Brianna Warren had 14 kills and five aces and two blocks for UNCP; Vanja Przulj had 14 kills and 20 digs; Shannon Skryd had 13 kills, three blocks and two aces; Morgan Gibbs had 56 assists and two aces; and Katie Pressley had 20 digs.

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.

Braves soccer beats Emmanuel in PKs in CC tourney

Ashleigh Harris found the Equalizer with 41 seconds remaining in regulation, and Chiara Coppin recorded two critical saves in the penalty kick shootout, as the third-seeded UNC Pembroke soccer team moved on to the semifinal round of the Conference Carolinas Tournament with a 5-4 triumph in penalties on Saturday evening at Lumbee River EMC Stadium.

The Braves (14-2-2) pushed their home unbeaten streak out to seven matches with Saturday's draw, and also advanced to the semifinal round of the Conference Carolinas Tournament for the second-straight season with the result as well. Emmanuel (9-8-2) fell to 4-4-1 away from Franklin Springs, Georgia, with the draw, but saw its season come to an end on Saturday as well.

In the ninth minute, Emmanuel's Elizabeth Barnhart and Rachel Wegesend put together a give-and-go while charging away from a scrum near midfield. Wegesend dished a pass to Barnhart, who then fired a pass through two UNCP defenders to create a one-on-one opportunity for Wegesend with goalkeeper Chiara Coppin, which Wegesend converted.

With the Braves still trailing in the 90th minute, Ashleigh Harris dribbled up the far sideline, shifted through a pair of Emmanuel defenders just inside the penalty area, and hit a cannon shot past goalkeeper Hannah Thompson and inside the far post for the equalizer.

As the match went to penalties, both sides connected on their first four penalty kick attempts, but the goalkeepers got the best of the field players on the fifth attempt for both teams. Braves keeper Chiara Coppin got in front of Elizabeth Barnhart's shot, Emmanuel's sixth attempt, and Naomi Fountain iced it for the Braves when she made good on the sixth attempt for the hosts.

Harris logged a match-best nine shots on Saturday evening, while also netting her 10th goal of the campaign as well. Harris has now scored a goal in three-straight outings for the Black & Gold.

Coppin officially tallied a pair of saves, but registered two additional stops in the penalty kick shootout. Coppin has yielded one goal or less in 17 of her 18 appearances between the pipes this season.

Five Braves registered multiple shots against the Lions. Redshirt junior Harris (five), junior Anna Grossheim (four) and senior Naomi Fountain (three) combined to tally 12 of UNCP's 16 shots on goal.

The Braves finished off the home portion of their 2022 schedule with a 5-0-2 mark at Lumbee River EMC Stadium. It is the first time since 2018 that UNCP has finished their home campaign without a loss.

UNCP was on the better end of a 13-0 shot disparity in the second half, and then out-shot Emmanuel 5-3 in the overtime periods. The Black & Gold also finished the evening with a 10-0 advantage in the corner kicks column.

The third-seeded Braves will face second-seeded Mount Olive (13-4-0) on Friday in the semifinal round of the Conference Carolinas Tournament. That contest is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. start at Bryan Park in Browns Summit.

UNCP swimming tops Barton, nationally-ranked Emory

The UNC Pembroke swimming team captured seven individual events on the evening, and capped off a successful Homecoming Tri-Meet with an impressive win in the 400-yard Freestyle Relay as well, to fuel victories over both nationally-ranked Emory and Conference Carolinas rival Barton on Saturday in the UNCP Aquatics Center.

The Braves (3-2) edged out Emory by a lone point, 131-130, but walked away with a 130-point victory, 191-61, over the Bulldogs. The Eagles, a perennial NCAA Division III contender, came into the weekend ranked No. 3 in the latest SwimCloud.com Dual rankings.

Junior Mariel Mencia Martinez captured impressive wins in the 50- and 100-yard Freestyle events, while capping her afternoon by besting the rest of the field in 100-yard Butterfly by nearly a second. Newcomer Chloe Imsand and junior Ketlyn Rodriguez Matos gave the Braves a sweep in the 100- and 200-yard Breaststroke, respectively, while Mary Jensen captured top honors in the 100-yard Backstroke, while fellow freshman Chiara Ambrosi was first in the 200-yard Individual Medley.

Senior Nathalia Silva teamed up with Imsand, Roriguez Matos and Mencia Martinez to post a dominating 5-second win in the 400-Yard Freestyle Relay that capped the meet.

The Braves will get a nearly three-week hiatus from competition before resuming their 2022-23 schedule, Nov. 18-19, at the William Peace Invitational in Cary.