Volleyball comes home for Parents’ Weekend

By Tiffany Bedell
Staff Writer

UNCP volleyball suffered a loss against USC Aiken on Oct. 8 by a final score of 3-1. The Lady Braves rallied in the first game to defeat the Pacers 30-27, but dropped the final three games with scores of 30-21, 30-13 and 30-18.

Rachelle Milbank had 11 kills, followed closely by Sarah Harrison with 10. Setter Lexie Wood made 32 assists and Alex Cogdill had 15 digs.

With the conference loss, the Braves fall to 2-4 in conference and 7-15 overall for the year.

USC Aiken proved to be a challenging competitor as Laura Williams led the team with 17 kills and Mandy Gerolstein closely followed with 16. Setter Rachel Dalitz contributed 43 assists.

Defensively, Hayden Johnson and Veronice Seidle tied in digs, both with eight, while Gerolstein led the team with 13 blocks.

“The girls have to perform and execute on the floor. Each match will be approached differently, especially against teams we’ve played and we can review on tape,” head coach Jeff Billington said.

Though presented with a loss for the week, the Lady Braves also recorded a win within the Peach Belt Conference.

UNCP played Augusta State on Oct. 7 and came away with a 3-1 victory.

Leading the team in kills was Milbank with 17 and closely following her was Rebekah Niesborella with 13.

Defensively, Harrison led the team in blocks with 11. Codgill had 20 digs while Alicia Hill had 17.

Augusta managed to keep the games close. The final scores of the four nerve-wracking games were 30-20, 30-28, 28-30 and 30-26.

Augusta was led by Sarah Lobstein with 20 kills and Meredith LeGrand, who had 15 digs.

Billington said there was a difference in the level of play between the two home games.

In every game there is a difference. We matched up well against Augusta State. The crowd was great and the girls love playing at home,” Billington said.