ST. AUGUSTINE – Rebekah Machovec recorded a match-high 13 kills and added 11 digs to help lead Flagler College to a sweep (25-20, 25-22, 25-22) of UNC Pembroke in a Peach Belt Conference Tournament semifinal match Wednesday evening at Flagler Gymnasium.

Flagler won its seventh match in a row and improved to 16-3 overall. The Saints advance to Saturday's final, which they will host, against Augusta University at 3 p.m. UNC Pembroke ends its season at 7-8.

"I have a ton of respect for Pembroke and the physicality they play with," said head coach Matt Affolder. "The situation they were in roster-wise was tough, but they really pressed us with their shot selection and block mentality. (UNCP head coach) Ellen (McGill) did a great job with their team this year and what she has built moving forward with their roster will make them a top-tier team."

Kennedy Muff recorded a double-double with 37 assists and 12 digs. Edie Lamoreaux led the defense with a team-high 13 digs. The rest of the offense was evenly distributed. Victoria Bowrosen had nine kills and 10 digs while Morgan Hall, Lindsay Glynn, and Jordan Taylor each had eight kills. Taylor hit .353 with two errors on 17 swings.

"I am incredibly proud of our team for again making major adjustments system-wise and going out there and proving they are champions and big-time competitors," said Affolder. "Morgan had great bounce to her game and did a great job handling some passes, while providing a great spark offensively. Jordan really clicked and found some openings with her swings, and our entire offense was balanced and produced great numbers. When you have five players with 8+ kills in a three-set match, and finish with 17 kills per set you are going to win a lot of matches. We talk a lot about point scoring over 17 per game (earned points) and we were over 19 tonight.  Kennedy was really clicking with her outside tempo/location which stressed Pembroke a great deal." 

Kaila Crowder led the Braves with 12 kills and eight digs. Brianna Warren finished with 10 kills and a .304 hitting percentage. Katie Pressley tallied 29 assists while Hope Turbyfill collected 16 digs. The Braves were limited to only seven players tonight.

The Saints never trailed in the first set. They used a 5-0 run to take a 14-8 lead. Machovec had two kills in the spurt. She had six kills in the set. Glynn had four kills and hit .667. Shannon Skryd led the Braves with four kills.

The Braves held a 22-21 lead after a Katelyn West kill, but the Saints reeled off the final four points on a kill by Machovec, a hitting error and a set error by UNCP, and Taylor ended the set with a kill. Bowrosen led Flagler with five kills and Crowder led UNC Pembroke with seven.

The third set saw 10 ties and four lead changes. The Saints trailed 20-18 but rallied to tie the score on a kill by Machovec and a hitting error by the Braves. Flagler was able to knot the score again at 22, and then took the lead on a block by Muff and Glynn. That duo recorded the next two kills to end the match. Machovec and Taylor each had four kills for Flagler. Warren had four for the Braves.

"We already know it will be round three with Augusta on Saturday and we are excited to host the conference tournament championship," said Affolder. "Augusta is a great team and they put an incredible amount of pressure on you with their serves and their attack/block physicality. Even though we split with them this season both teams are completely different than those previous meetings."

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