RALEIGH, N.C. – Olivia Porter totaled 14 kills and 19 digs as Saint Augustine's University (SAU) defeated host William Peace University in five sets at the Hermann Center on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2015. The scores were 25-22, 12-25, 25-19, 23-25 and 15-9.

After both teams battled to a 2-2 tie, the Lady Falcons controlled the fifth set. They took a 6-1 lead and coasted to victory even though the Pacers made a late run.

"I told our ladies the first team to eight points will win the fifth set," SAU Head Coach Nikki Bynum Bumpass said. "We stepped on the gas from the start and went from there."

The Lady Falcons led 13-5 in the fifth set but the Pacers closed the gap to 14-9 before Akera McPhaul (So./Greensboro, NC) ended the match with a kill off an assist from Juliseea Thomas (Sr./St. Croix, US Virgin Islands).

The Lady Falcons (3-4 overall) celebrated on one side of the court after the win. Last week, they were swept in three sets by William Peace at home but the Lady Falcons were the more aggressive team on Wednesday.

"We played with tenacity," Bumpass said. "Most of the matches we lost are because of errors. Our goal [against William Peace] was to give no gifts. We wanted to make them earn every point."

Shakera Hall (Fr./Bridgetown, Barbados) added 11 kills and Brittany Jamison (Fr./Summerville, SC) contributed 10 kills for the Lady Falcons, who avenged a three-set loss to the Pacers at Emery Gymnasium last Wednesday.

Thomas finished with 33 assists and Zoey Isom (Fr./Phoenix, AZ) registered 23 digs. The trio of Porter, Jamison and Mikayla Pettyjohn (So./Jamestown, NC) had three blocks apiece and Hall added two blocks for the Lady Falcons, who finished with 13 blocks to seven for Peace.

The Lady Falcons set the tone with a three-point victory in the first set. They suffered a setback in a 13-point second-set loss but bounced back to take the third set. After barely losing the fourth set by two points, the Lady Falcons dominated the fifth set to snap the Pacers' three-match win streak. Incidentally, the streak started with a victory over the Lady Falcons last week.

The Pacers were led by Laura Bland with 14 kills and Liana Solomon with 12 kills and 15 assists. Kennedey Paine added 19 assists and Carson Williams tallied 13 digs for the Pacers (6-3 overall).

The Lady Falcons will begin conference play this weekend at the CIAA Round-Up I in Raleigh, N.C. They will host five matches in two days at Emery Gymnasium including three matches on Saturday, Sept. 19.

The Lady Falcons will open the Round-Up on Saturday against Chowan University at 12 p.m. followed by a 3 p.m. match against Virginia State University. The 6 p.m. match pits Fayetteville State University against Chowan.

On Sunday, Fayetteville State faces Virginia State at 11 a.m. followed by the Lady Falcons' match against Elizabeth City State at 1 p.m.