GREENWOOD – The Lander volleyball team erased a 2-1 deficit on Friday night in Finis Horne Arena to earn a 3-2 win over UNC Pembroke, winning the match 20-25, 25-18, 16-25 25-18, 15-10.

Lander fell behind early in set one as UNCP tallied the night's first four points. The early deficit would be too much as the Bearcats could not pull even, dropping the first set 25-20. 

The Bearcats flipped the script to start the second set, sprinting to a 13-4 lead. Lander increased the lead to 20-8 before the Braves rallied to pull within six. However, a Maya Walker block closed out the set as the Bearcats knotted the score at 1-1. 

In a back-and-forth third set, Lander trailed 21-16 before UNCP strung together four consecutive points to take the set and pull ahead 2-1. 

Lander trailed 6-1 early in the fourth set and were behind 10-5 before a 10-2 run put the Bearcats up 15-13. With Lander leading 18-17, Olivia Dow and Deona Mims combined for six kills in Lander's next seven points to help the Bearcats force a fifth set. 

Both teams alternated scoring on the first nine points of the decisive set before a Christina Aguayo kill and ace sparked a 6-0 Bearcat run to make the score 10-4. UNCP threatened late with three consecutive points to cut the lead to 14-10, but Aguayo ended the night with a kill to cap Lander's comeback. 

Aguayo led Lander with 18 kills and added 13 digs. Madilyn Reed tallied 53 assists and 24 digs, both team highs. Deona Mims chipped in 13 kills, while Maddie Reed added 18 digs and Hallie Huth finished with 10 digs. 

Lander finishes its season Saturday with a 3:00 p.m. home match against Francis Marion.

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