MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. - Saint Augustine's College had to dig deep to fend off host Mount Olive College 25-22, 34-36, 25-18, 24-26, 15-8 Friday on the first day of the Mount Olive Classic at Kornegay Arena.

The Lady Falcons (19-7 overall) are one match away from their second consecutive 20-win season. The CIAA Southern Division champions, the Lady Falcons can reach the milestone Saturday when they meet Armstrong Atlantic State at 9 a.m. in the second day of the event. 

Saturday's 1 p.m. match against Fayetteville State has been canceled, however. It would have been the third meeting between divisional rivals and the second in a week. On Monday, the Lady Falcons edged the Lady Broncos in five sets to clinch the division crown.

After playing four grueling sets Friday, the Lady Falcons decided the outcome decisively in the fifth game. The Lady Falcons controled the match-deciding set, opening a 9-3 lead before finishing off the Lady Trojans (3-18 overall).

Shakira Carter (Sr./St. Michael, Barbados) sparked the Lady Falcons with a match-high 15 kills. Roxanne Smith (Jr./St. Catherine, Jamaica) added a match-high 42 assists in addition to five kills, three aces and 10 digs, and Nicolette Campbell (Jr./Nassau, Bahamas) chipped in a match-high 13 digs.

Ashley Reuter led the Lady Trojans with 12 kills and six blocks. Tiffany Hight added 11 kills and four blocks while Carley White added 10 kills. Erica Conner had 10 kills and 9 digs for the Lady Trojans.

The Lady Falcons recovered from an 8-2 deficit to win game one. Then they let a five-point lead slip away in losing game two, which is the longest set the Lady Falcons have played since the NCAA changed to 25-point rally scoring two years ago. 

The Lady Falcons never trailed after leading 4-0 in game three. The fourth set was tight with the Lady Trojans winning by two to tie the match, but the Lady Falcons prevailed in the fifth match for the win.