FAIRBANKS, Alaska — The UNC Pembroke volleyball team lost its first game in the Denali State Ice Block Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska on Thursday against Slippery Rock, but bounced back to beat Felician on the second day of the tournament on Friday.
UNCP hit .258 from the net and recorded 10 service aces to knock off Felician 3-1 (22-25, 26-16, 25-21, 25-17) on Friday evening inside the Patty Center.
Abby Peduzzi, Tyler Patterson, and Mckenna Hayes each posted a double-double for UNCP (2-3), with Patterson and Hayes each tallying four service aces apiece. Peduzzi had 12 kills, Patterson had 46 assists and 18 digs and Hayes had 13 kills with 11 digs. Katelynn Swain also recorded 12 digs and she and Precious Daley each had three blocks, with Daley adding two aces.
UNC Pembroke took an early 7-2 lead in the first set with a kill from Ruby Countryman. Felician (2-5) hit a match-best .407 from the net and would tie the score at 13 apiece, but the Braves would eventually push the lead out to 19-15. The Golden Falcons would begin to chip away at their deficit, and closed out the set winning eight straight points to take a 25-22 set win.
Felician won five of the first six points of the second set to take an early lead, but UNCP would rattle off six consecutive points to gain a 13-10 advantage. Felician worked its deficit back to 17-14, but UNCP hit .265 from the net and stayed in control closing out the set on an 8-2 run to win 25-16.
A Tyler Patterson kill gave UNC Pembroke a 7-3 third-set lead, but the Golden Falcons scored the next three points to cut the lead down to 7-6. UNCP cushioned their lead, 18-13, with an attack error from Felician, but the Golden Falcons scored three straight points to trail 18-16. The Black & Gold hit .267 from the net and outscored Felician 7-5 to take the third set, 25-21.
An 8-0 UNC Pembroke fourth-set run gave the Braves a 16-6 lead following a block from Precious Daley and Katelynn Swain midway through the set. Felician worked its deficit back to 23-17 with four consecutive points, but kills from Mckenna Hayes and Abby Peduzzi wrapped up the set at 25-17 to seal the match.
In Thursday’s match, Slippery Rock hit .267 from the net and committed just 12 attack errors to take down UNCP 3-0 (12-25, 24-26, 17-25) in the opening game of the tournament.
The Braves tallied nine service aces. It was the first meeting between the two teams.
UNC Pembroke scored the first two points of the first set, but Slippery Rock (4-1) would go on a 15-2 run to push their lead out to 15-4. The Braves chipped away at their deficit, 17-9, following a service ace from Brette Doile, but the SRU hit a match-best .500 from the net and closed out the set on an 8-3 scoring surge to take the set 25-12.
In the second set, an ill-timed attack error from UNCP capped off an 8-2 run for SRU and gave them a 17-13 lead midway through the set. The Black & Gold rattled off seven points to take a slight 20-19 after a kill from Abby Peduzzi. UNCP knotted the score at 24 apiece with a kill from Mckenna Hayes, but Slippery Rock won the final two points of the set to win 26-24 and take a two set lead.
Slippery Rock jumped out to a quick 9-3 advantage in the third set, but the Braves responded with six consecutive points to knot the score at nine. Slippery Rock put together a 13-3 run to run their score out to 23-13, and closed out the set at 25-17 despite UNCP winning four of the final six points.
Mckenna Hayes had three aces and seven kills for UNCP, Precious Daley had six kills, Abby Peduzzi had three kills and nine blocks, Tyler Patterson had 11 assists, Karagyn Durco had nine assists and Brette Doile had seven digs.
The Braves will play Alaska Anchorage on Saturday at 3 p.m. EST and then close out action at the Denali State Ice Block Classic against Alaska Fairbanks at 11 p.m. EST.
Braves cross country teams turn in successful performances at Chanticleer Challenge
Moureen Kimaiyo added another strong run to her sophomore campaign, finishing second in the women’s 5K race, while Payden Lewis paced the men’s side with an 11th-place finish in the men’s 8K run Friday evening in the Chanticleer Challenge hosted by Coastal Carolina.
Kimaiyo finished runner-up with a time of 18:46.3, good for 13th-best in school history. Jackline Kosgei finished fifth with a time of 19:11, while freshman Sofia Skidmore ran a 19:57.2 to take eighth and put three Braves in the top 10. Malea Bennewitz (20:45.4) took 14th, Michela Gritti (21:04.1) finished 17th, with Leticia Pena (21:55.3) taking 20th. Lizzy Laurine finished 24th in her collegiate debut with a time of 23:52.3, while Mariah Spencer placed 25th with a time of 24:06.4 to round out the women’s side.
Clancey led the way on the men’s side with a time of 27:33.4, with Will Clancey right behind him in 12th with a time of 27:52.5. Newcomer Charlie Schihl (28:13.5) took 15th, with Daniel Mejias (28:22.4) taking 16th, and Gabe Blackwelder (29:15.6) finishing 18th. JP Marquez took 19th with a time of 29:36.2, with Kevin Vazquez fnishing 21st at 30:08.1, and Christian Whiteside placing 22nd with a time of 30:19.0 to close out the men’s side.
The women’s squad took second as a team, finishing with 41 points, while the men took third with 67 points.
UNCP will resume its race schedule on Saturday, Sept. 28 at the Akiah McMillan Invitational at The Farm in Newberry, South Carolina. Races are set to begin at 9 a.m.
