September 6, 2006

PEMBROKE, N.C.—For the second straight evening, the St. Andrews Presbyterian College volleyball team dominated play with a straight game victory. The Knights traveled to local rival UNC-Pembroke on Wednesday and spoiled the Lady Braves home opener with three consecutive 30-24 game wins in front of a large crowd at the English E. Jones Center.

SAPC catapulted over .500 with the road victory improving to 6-5 overall while UNCP fell to 3-5.

The Knights jumped out to an early 9-4 lead in the first behind back-to-back kills by senior Lauren McManus (Raleigh, N.C.) and junior Lindsey Stansbury (Morgan City, La.). An ace by Stansbury extended the St. Andrews advantage to the largest of the game, 14-5. However, a 12-3 Lady Braves run completed a comeback effort and knotted everything at 17 apiece. The Knights responded with a quick 5-2 run to retain the lead for good. Freshman Galina Podolsky (Raleigh, N.C.) drilled a cross-court kill from the left side to finish off the first, 30-24.

Behind a loud crowd, Pembroke bounced back with a quick 7-1 lead in the second. The Lady Knights would not let the environment get to them and rallied with a 10-4 run to tie the set at 11-11. The two teams traded points for the next 16 serves but SAPC finally posted three straight points to take control, 22-19. Once again, Podolsky put away the game, 30-24, with a kill to give the Knights a commanding 2-0 lead.

The Lady Braves once again mustered a tough third game but St. Andrews slowly pulled away and completed the sweep with another 30-24 victory.

Stansbury led the Knights with 16 kills, a .359 hitting percentage, and 10 digs. McManus posted a solid performance with 10 digs and seven kills while junior Tara Lemieux (Panama City, Fla.) ripped 11 kills.

Senior setter Kim Harper (Boca Raton, Fla.) had a game-high 39 assists and 14 digs. Junior libero Erin Haugen (Fort Mill, S.C.) also had a game-high 27 digs. Podolsky added eight kills while the Knights hit .193 as a team.

St. Andrews treks to Greeneville, Tenn., for the Pioneer Classic (hosted by Tusculum College) this weekend. The Knights will be tested with a Saturday tripleheader including games against Lander (9:00 a.m.), Johnson C. Smith (11:00 a.m.) and Tusculum (4:00 p.m.).