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Rays' Tyler Alexander has perfect game going vs. Blue Jays

Braves volleyball wins two matches to open season; cross country teams 9th and 11th at Appalachian State

the robesonian, lumberton, n.c.
·5 min read

Sep. 4—AIKEN, S.C. — The UNC Pembroke volleyball team hit nearly .250 at the net and surrendered just one set on the afternoon on the way to registering a perfect opening-day performance at the USC Aiken Invitational on Friday. The Braves opened the 2021 season with a 3-0 win over Lincoln Memorial, before closing out day one with a 3-1 triumph over Carson-Newman.

The output gave the Black & Gold (2-0) its first 2-0 start since the 2007 campaign, while the noon sweep of the Railsplitters gave UNCP a season-opening win for the second-straight year. It was the first win for the Braves in the 4-match-old series with Lincoln Memorial.

Friday's results also marked the first two victories of first-year head coach Carly Wehling's collegiate head coaching career.

The Braves will close out action at the USC Aiken Invitational with a pair of matches on Saturday inside the Convocation Center. UNCP will take on the host Pacers (2-0) at noon, before wrapping up the weekend against Auburn Montgomery (1-0) at 3 p.m.

UNCP vs. Lincoln Memorial

The Railsplitters forged a quick 4-1 first-set lead to set the tone early, but the Braves responded by tacking up 10 of the set's next 11 points to take control for good. Lincoln Memorial used a mild run to climb to within six points, 19-13, but the Black & Gold closed it out by capturing six of the final eight points to win 25-15.

Lincoln Memorial overcame a slow start in the second set with three-straight points that helped it pull to within two points, 8-6, but UNCP hit .565 in the second set to overwhelm the Railsplitters. The Railsplitters used three-straight points to pull to within a lone point, 7-6, early, but the Braves won 15 of the next 20 points to eventually pad their lead out to 22-11, ultimately winning 25-16.

The third set saw a dozen tie scores and 12 lead changes as the squads combined to register 13 errors, but it was the Black & Gold that posted the final two points of the set to close out the season-opening victory. The Braves led 21-16 following a service ace from Katie Pressley, but the Railsplitters took seven of the next nine points to eventually knot the score up at 23 apiece. UNCP took the lead for good thanks to an LMU service error, and then capped the match on Taylor Osborne's kill, winning 25-23.

Brianna Warren had 10 kills, Katelyn West had nine and Shannon Skyrd had eight for UNCP. Katie Pressley had 30 assists. Hope Turbyfill had 16 digs and Skyrd had 13. Warren had four blocks.

UNCP vs. Carson-Newman

Carson-Newman used an 8-2 run to forge a 15-12 first-set advantage and force a UNCP timeout that would prove to quell the momentum altogether. The Braves came out of the timeout and captured eight of the next nine points to take the lead for good and win 25-18.

The Eagles came out of the second-set gates on fire, winning the first three points and eventually taking a 19-9 lead on two-straight kills from the hand of Erin Edwards. The Braves won six-straight points later in the set to pull to within two, 22-20, but Carson-Newman used two-straight kills, as well as a set-point attack error from the Black & Gold, to knot the match, then pulled away to win 25-20.

UNCP hit .444 at the net and committed just three errors on the way to cruising to a convincing 25-16 win in the third set that swung the momentum for good. The clubs split the first 14 points of the stanza before the Black & Gold posted a 7-1 run to give a preview of the eventual outcome.

The Braves broke a 3-3 tie on a kill from Elly Hicks that signaled a 7-1 run that fueled the 25-14 fourth-set outcome. Carson-Newman kept itself in the match on consecutive errors from the Braves that shrunk the lead back to four points, 12-8, but an ensuing 7-2 run by the Black & Gold all but put the final bow on the victory. Consecutive kills from Brianna Warren and Katelyn West took care of that to close out the day.

Erin O'Donnell had 12 kills, Skyrd had 11 and Warren 10. Pressley had 40 assists and Marissa Morgan had 15 digs.

Braves cross country teams ninth, 11th at Appalachian State

Joshua Chepkesir claimed a 17th-place finish in the men's 8K to help the UNC Pembroke men's cross country team to a ninth-place finish at the NCAA Division I-laden Covered Bridge Open on Friday evening. Braves newcomer Jackline Kosgei placed 40th to fuel an 11th-place finish for the women's squad.

Nineteen NCAA Division-I men's and women's teams competed across the two races at the Appalachian State-hosted meet, including Florida State who took top honors in both competitions. The event officially kicked off the 2021 campaign for the Black & Gold.

Chepkesir covered the 8K course in 25 minutes, 54.72 seconds, just 66 seconds off of the pace of meet champion Adriaan Wildschutt from Florida State. Senior Ean Ormsby (27:32.64) and freshman Jack Phieffer (27:33.30) finished in 67th and 68th place, respectively. Hunter Levy (73rd) completed the race with a time of 27:51.50, while Delsin Burkhart rounded out the scoring for the Braves in 75th place.

Freshman Lucas Nervo (89th) and newcomer Alec Valle (91st) each established collegiate personal bests, while Bryan Viera logged a 101st place finish.

On the women's side, Kosgei matched the fifth-fastest 5K time in program history after registering a time of 18:48.60. Valary Samoei (53rd) covered the course in 19:23.64, just 12 seconds ahead of Kathryn Anderson who finished in 57th place. Senior Sam Badami placed 109th, while newcomer Chloe Phillips rounded out the scoring with a 117th-place finish. Senior Corey Pethers placed 122nd with a time of 22:51.08.

The Black & Gold will get a nearly two-week break before returning to action at the Converse Kick Off on September 18. The race is set to begin at 9 a.m. at the Milliken Research Park in Spartanburg, S.C.