PBC Tournament - Top-Seeded Flagler Sweeps UNC Pembroke

AIKEN, S.C. – Top-seeded Flagler swept eighth-seeded UNC Pembroke 3-0 to acquire its 23rd straight victory in the first match of the 19th Annual Peach Belt Conference Volleyball Championship at the USC Aiken Convocation Center on Friday, Nov. 13.

Flagler advances to the semifinals of the 2009 Peach Belt Conference Volleyball Championship where they will take on the winner of the #4 Montevallo-#5 USC Aiken match at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14. The semifinal match will be the first of two semifinal matches on the day with the second semifinal set to get underway immediately following the first semifinal at approximately 6 p.m.

Flagler is now 30-8 overall on the 2009 season with the victory. The Braves conclude their 2009 campaign with an 11-21 record.

Flagler opened the match by earning a relatively easy 25-7 victory over UNC Pembroke in the first set. The Saints took advantage of a tentative UNC Pembroke squad in the set by holding the eight-seeded team in the tournament to a negative (-.155) hitting performance in the first game. Flagler in turn hit .286 as a team in the first game.

Things would change quite a bit in the second game with UNC Pembroke and Flagler sitting tied at 8-8 early on in the second set. Flagler would then go on a 6-0 run to take a 14-8 lead. UNC Pembroke would never recover from the Flagler run with the Saints garnering an eight-point 25-17 victory in the second set.

The third game began much in the same way as the second with the Braves taking the lead twice early in the game. UNC Pembroke led by as many as two points in the early goings of the third set at 8-6. Flagler would pull ahead to a four-point 19-15 lead shortly thereafter, but UNC Pembroke made things interesting by tying the game at 21-21.

Flagler would show why they are the top-seeded team in the tournament by holding off the Brave charge in the set with a 27-25 victory.

Flagler finished the match hitting .194 as a team, while UNC Pembroke improved after the first set to end the match hitting .039 as a team.

Flagler’s Justine Burkhardt was the only player in the match to record double-digit kills, finishing the match with 12. She also collected 13 digs to finish with a double-double.

Three-time PBC Player of the Week Meg Weathersby of Flagler finished with 10 digs and nine kills.

Allie Schneider led the Braves in their loss with six kills. Andrea Laza was the only UNCP player to acquire double-digit digs with 12.

Boxscore