Francis Marion, UNC Pembroke Advance to Quarterfinals of 2023 Conference Carolinas Women's Volleyball Championship
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PEMBROKE, N.C./FLORENCE, S.C.– Fourth-seeded UNC Pembroke and fifth-seeded Francis Marion advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2023 Conference Carolinas Women's Volleyball Championship on Sunday, Nov. 12.
With their second-round victories, the Braves and Patriots will square off in the first quarterfinal match on Friday, Nov. 17 in North Charleston, South Carolina. First serve in the match is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the North Charleston Athletic Center.
UNC Pembroke (19-13) faced off against 10th-seeded King (11-17) after the Tornado had opened the tournament with a 3-1 win over ninth-seeded Chowan. The East division-champion Braves started its win over King with a 25-13 win in the first set. They then collected a 25-9 win in the second set. The Braves concluded the home sweep with a 25-18 victory in the third game. Vanja Przulj posted a double-double in the match with 17 kills and 15 digs. Katie Pressley paced the UNCP attack with 40 assists. Hailee Blankenship tallied eight kills to lead King in its season-ending loss.
In Florence, Francis Marion (16-15) defeated No. 11 Barton (10-18) in a five set thriller after the Bulldogs shocked eight-seed Young Harris in the first round. The Patriots opened the match with a dominant 25-12 win in set one, but the Bulldogs responded with a 25-18 win in set two and hung on for a 25-23 win in set three. Francis Marion scored eight of the final 12 points in set four to even the match with a 26-24 win. Barton used a five-point rally late in set five to make things interesting, but a Kaytlin Smart kill sealed a 15-12 victory. Kaylee Gillespie led the Patriots with a double-double as she tallied 49 assists and 21 digs. She also had four kills. Caroline Lucas paced the offense with 23 kills and a .629 attack percentage. Allison Gambill also had a double-double with 25 kills and 19 digs to lead Barton in its season-ending loss.
In the first round matchup between King and Chowan, the Tornado opened with a tough, 26-24, win in game one and then followed that up with a 25-19 victory in the second set. Chowan bounced back in set three with a 25-21 win, but the Tornado wrapped things up in the fourth set with a 25-17 victory. Blankenship paced King with 21 kills and she added 16 digs while Katie Harless dished out 41 assists and added 19 digs in the win. Lyniah Lee paced the Chowan (6-22) offense with 14 kills while Caleigh Bergling posted 10 kills and had 29 digs in the season-ending loss.
In the first round matchup between Barton and Young Harris, the lower-seeded Bulldogs opened with a pair of wins, 25-18 and 25-19, before the Mountain Lions took the next two, 25-12 and 25-20. In the decisive fifth set Young Harris raced out to a 10-2 lead and had two match points, but the Bulldogs scored 10 of the final 11 points for an improbable, 16-14, victory. Henley Stleight, who was responsible for three of the final five points, led Barton with 20 kills and added 15 digs while Gambill also had a double-double with 14 kills and 16 digs. Lily Hidalgo paced Young Harris (10-17) with a 21 kill, 17 dig double-double in the season-ending loss.
The 2023 Conference Carolinas Women's Volleyball Championship heads to the North Charleston Athletic Center in North Charleston, South Carolina for the quarterfinals, semifinals and final, Nov. 17-19. UNC Pembroke and Francis Marion will open the quarterfinals at 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 17 followed by No. 3 Emmanuel against No. 6 Lees-McRae at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, Nov. 18, No. 1 seed Mount Olive will face the FMU/UNCP winner at 5 p.m. in the first semifinal with the EU/LMC winner taking on No. 2 North Greenville at 7:30 p.m. The final is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 19.
2023 Conference Carolinas Women’s Volleyball Championship
First Round – Saturday, November 11 & Sunday, November 12 (Nos. 4, 5 & 6 Host)
#7 Converse 3, #12 Belmont Abbey 0 (Box Score)
#11 Barton 3, #8 Young Harris 2 (Box Score)
#10 King 3, #9 Chowan 1 (Box Score)
Second Round - Saturday, November 11 & Sunday, November 12 (Higher Seed Hosts)
#4 UNC Pembroke 3, #10 King 0 (Box Score)
#5 Francis Marion 3, #11 Barton 2 (Box Score)
#6 Lees-McRae 3, #7 Converse 0 (Box Score)
Quarterfinals – Friday, November 17 (North Charleston Athletic Center, North Charleston, S.C.)
#5 Francis Marion vs. #4 UNC Pembroke, 5:00 p.m.
#6 Lees-McRae vs. #3 Emmanuel, 7:30 p.m.
Semifinals – Saturday, November 18 (North Charleston Athletic Center, North Charleston, S.C.)
Winner of #4-#5 vs. #1 Mount Olive, 5:00 p.m.
Winner of #3-#6 vs. #2 North Greenville, 7:30 p.m.
Final – Sunday, November 19 (North Charleston Athletic Center, North Charleston, S.C.)
Winner of Semifinal #1 vs. Winner of Semifinal #2, 3 p.m.