DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The UNC Pembroke volleyball team hit .101 from the net and fell 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-19) to Flagler in the opening contest of the day at the Bahama House Classic on Saturday. UNCP hit .223 from the next in the nightcap and picked up its first victory of the season against Georgian Court with a 3-0 (28-26, 25-18, 25-23) sweep to close out weekend competition.

It was the 31st meeting between the Braves and the Saints, as the Saints have won the last 16 meetings. It was the first meeting between UNCP and Georgian Court.

In the first set against Flagler, UNC Pembroke took a quick 9-2 lead rattling off eight straight points, but the Saints responded with a 12-1 run of their own to take a 15-11 lead in the opening set. UNCP chipped away at its deficit with a Flagler attack error to trail 21-18, but the Saints won the final four points of the set to win 25-18.

An Emma Fraidenburg kill capped off a four-point surge for the Black & Gold in the second set to trail just 8-6, but the Saints scored six of the next seven points to double their lead 14-7. Flagler hit .243 from the net during the set and took a commanding 20-10 lead following six consecutive points, ultimately winning 25-20.

Precious Daley’s kill cut the UNCP deficit back to 12-9 early in the third set, but Flagler would extend its lead out to 19-11 rattling off five straight points. The Braves used an 8-4 scoring surge to trail just 22-19, but FC won the final two points of the match to halt a comeback and win 25-19 to seal the victory.

Daley had 10 kills and two blocks for UNCP, Ruby Countryman had six kills, Emma Fraidenburg had five kills, Tyler Patterson had 14 assists and eight digs, Karagyn Durco had eight assists, six digs and two aces, Brette Diole had five assists and 16 digs and Kaitlynn Swain had two blocks.

Against Georgian Court, UNC Pembroke hit .216 from the net in the opening set and took a 12-11 lead with a kill from Abby Peduzzi. Georgian Court scored a trio of points to take a slight 17-16 lead, but UNCP knotted the score at 17 apiece with a service error from Georgian Court. The Lions tied the score at 25 apiece, but the Black & Gold won three of the final four points to take the first set 28-26.

GC took an early 5-3 advantage in the second set with a kill from Nylene Mateo, but UNCP scored the next nine points to run the score out to 12-5 capped off with a block from Ruby Countryman and Abby Peduzzi. UNC Pembroke hit a match-best .303 from the net and used a kill from Mckenna Hayes to stay in control of the set and lead 22-15 en route to a 25-18 win.

Nylene Mateo gave Georgian Court a 12-9 lead with a kill, but the Braves would tie the score at 14 with a kill from Emma Fraidenburg. UNCP used a four-point surge to push their lead out to 19-16, but GC would score the next three points to even the score at 19. The Braves capitalized on a Georigan Court service error to take the lead for good, and won 25-23 to finish the match.

Peduzzi had 19 kills and eight digs in the nightcap. Mckenna Hayes had eight kills, 13 digs and four aces, Countryman had six kills and three blocks, Durco had 17 assists, Patterson had 15 assists, Doile had three assists and five digs, Swain had six blocks and Daley had five blocks.

The Braves will trek to Alaska on Thursday for the Denali State Ice Block Classic. The three-day tournament will be played inside the Alaska Airlines Gymnasium in Fairbanks, Alaska.

UNCP soccer bested by No. 8 Lenoir-Rhyne

Mercy Bell’s goal in the 47th minute cut the deficit in half, but 8th-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne tacked on two more goals of its own to pull away and secure a 4-1 victory on Sunday afternoon at LREMC Stadium.

The Braves (0-2-0) fell to 9-7-2 in the all-time series against the Bears (1-0-0), but have now dropped three of the last four meetings in the series.

Lenoir-Rhyne’s Evan O’Leary made a move in the 19th minute to get free outside the penalty area and sent a perfect cross to the head of Emerson Talley, who found the back of the net to put the Bears out to an early 1-0 lead.

In the 40th minute, LR’s Aly Ramsey took control of the ball 35 yards out, dribbled to the right side of the penalty box, and lofted a well-placed shot into the back of the net to stretch the lead to 2-0.

UNCP’s Anna Grossheim delivered a perfect 47th-minute free kick service to the foot of Mercy Bell, who fired a left-footed strike past the LR goalkeeper to cut the lead to 2-1.

Grossheim tallied her 35th career assist, while Bell scored her 29th career goal for the Braves.

The Bears answered right back two minutes later as Nicole Auger’s shot struck the crossbar and deflected to the foot of Talley, who found the back of the net for her second goal of the day and a 3-1 lead.

Lenoir-Rhyne struck for the final time in the 85th minute as O’Leary added her second assist of the day on a service to Auger, who headed it home to make it 4-1.

Lenoir-Rhyne took 20 shots, with 10 shots on goal. The Braves earned nine corner kicks, while the Bears took six.

UNCP will head to Tigerville, South Carolina on Saturday, Sept. 14 to begin Conference Carolinas play against North Greenville. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Pepsi Stadium.

Braves golf 15th at AU/Erskine Kickoff

The UNC Pembroke golf team kicked off the fall season on Monday at the AU/Erskine Fall Kickoff and currently sit in 15th place following the opening two rounds of action at The Links at Stoney Point.

Newcomers Marta Ortega (18 over par) and Catherine DeSiena (18 over) sit in a seven-way tie for 43rd place and are 23 strokes behind Jess Brown of Wingate, who leads the tournament with a two-round total of 5-under-par 139. Freshman Ella Reed (24 over) and senior Michelle Guerra Landa (24 over) are in a five-way tie for 67th place, while sophomore Melissa Guerra Landa (39 over) finished the first two rounds in 88th place.

The Braves will close out action at the AU/Erskine Fall Kickoff on Tuesday at The Links at Stoney Point.