First Posted: 10/14/2014

PEMBROKE — Using a .201 hitting percentage and forcing visiting Columbus State to commit 34 attack errors, the University of North Carolina at Pembroke volleyball team clinched a 3-2 upset win on Saturday afternoon inside the English E. Jones Center.

It was the second league victory for UNCP (11-13, 2-8 PBC) and first for the Braves in the series between the two schools, while the loss for Columbus State (7-10, 4-5) snapped a four-game winning streak.

Junior Nicole Mathews led the Braves with a game-high 21 kills and 40 digs, while setter Sabrina Gonzalez finished the contest with 48 assists and 11 digs as the only Braves with double-doubles. Junior Cecilia Brandon and freshman Mallory Davis each posted six block assists with Brandon also tallying 12 kills.

UNCP hit a .205 hitting percentage in the fourth set and forced the Cougars to commit 10 hitting errors, while Davis was behind three of UNCP’s nine block assists to even up the game at two sets each.

“Coming back in the fourth set was critical,” said Mathews. “We had to pick it up because we were making little errors that allowed them to get back into the game that could have let them beat us, but by eliminating those errors in four and five we were able to pull out the win.”

In the fifth set, the Braves relied on Ka’asha Jefferies’s serving to give UNCP a 3-1 lead which the Cougars struggled to match as the set continued. Mathews delivered four kills in five consecutive plays for UNCP to take the 8-5 lead. The final point began on Ivana Kazic’s serve that soared over the net with Mathews behind for the dig and on a surprise play, Gonzalez tipped over the ball for the kill and the 3-2 win.

Stiles named PBC Defender of the Week

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Coming off of a week in which she helped lead the UNCP womens soccer team to a pair of league shutouts, including a 3-0 shutout of regional nemesis Lander, sophomore Savanna Stiles was lauded as Peach Belt Conference Defender of the Week on Monday.

Stiles played all 180 minutes in both victories and recorded an assist on UNCP’s (8-3-1, 5-2-0) third goal against Lander. She spearheaded a defense that limited the Bearcats to just five shots, none on goal, in that outing.

A two-year starter for the Braves, Stiles has started all 31 games of her UNCP career and has scored 11 points on one goal and nine assists. She has already accounted for a career-best six assists this season.

Thompson pushes womens golf to lead

CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Ashlii Thompson shot an even-par 72 to sit atop the individual leaderboard and help the UNCP womens golf team to the lead after the first round at the Lady Flames Shootout on Monday.

Thompson has a 1-stroke lead over Shorter’s Jennifer Yu, 1-over, heading into Tuesday’s final round in southeastern Tennessee. Freshman Amanda Levy is in third place after an opening-round 75, while Pembroke native Laura Bird, 5-over, is in a six-way tie for fifth place after carding a 77.

UNCP has a 3-stroke lead on the rest of the 13-team field into Tuesday.

Mens cross country takes 2nd at Royals Challenge

CHARLOTTE — The UNCP mens cross country team had its top five runners in the top-30 to claim a second place finish on Saturday morning at the Royals Cross Country Challenge hosted by Queens at McAlpine Creek Park.

Similar to two weeks earlier at the Charlotte Cross Country Invitational, Tennessee Weslyan took top honors with 39 points, but the Braves jumped to a second place finish with 97 points.

Junior Tim Sigmon dropped nine seconds off his personal best time and led the Braves with a 15th place finish as he crossed the finish line in a time of 25:24. Following behind him as the second and third place finishers for UNCP were returners Joel Johnston and Wilson Pearson, who both claimed season-best times in the 8K. Johnston was five seconds faster than Pearson as they finished in 22nd and 23rd with times of 26:07.0 and 26:12.1, respectively.

Junior Nebiyou Aynu was five seconds off his personal best time as he ran a time of 26:33.7 for a 27th place finish and Matt Reith totaled a 29th place finish with a season best time by five seconds (26:37.2).