PEMBROKE, NC - Freshman Amanda Mitchell recorded 14 kills as second-seeded Francis Marion University swept past sixth-seeded UNC Pembroke in three sets (25-23, 25-17, 26-24), Saturday evening (Nov. 15) in the semifinals of the Peach Belt Conference Volleyball Tournament.

With the win, Francis Marion (23-7) advances to face top-seeded Armstrong Atlantic State University in Sunday's championship match at 2 p.m. on the campus of UNCP.  FMU will be making its sixth appearance in the title match, and the first since 2005.  FMU is 3-2 in its previous five appearances.

Mitchell hit .370 in the match and was the only player on either squad to reach double-figure kills. Mitchell and junior middleblocker Caitlin Simpson were the only two Patriots to find consistent success on the attack as the team as a whole hit .172.

Senior setter Jenna Kaiser had 25 assists and 11 digs for Francis Marion to lead the team in both categories. Junior defensive specialist Jess O'Leary added 10 digs.  Senior Jessica Lombardi, playing with an injured hand, was limited to three, kills but had a team-high six blocks.

After an emotional 3-2 upset win over third-seeded Lander University earlier in the day, UNCP was sluggish to begin the match, hitting .088 with eight errors and 11 kills. Nevertheless, the first set was tied at 22 when a service error and back-to-back attack errors gave the Patriots the win.

FMU played its best in the second set, hitting .385 as a team. The Patriots jumped out to 7-1 lead thanks to a 4-0 run on the serve of freshman Hallie Legg and never looked back, going on 3-0 runs three more times in the set.

UNCP put up its best fight in the third set as two kills by Rachel Young were part of a 5-0 run that led to an 18-13 Braves' lead. However, FMU responded behind the serve of freshman Ashlee Crook, who was a third-set substitute, and ran off five straight points. UNCP got a kill from Jessica Hartley to take a 24-22 lead, but then committed three straight attack errors to give FMU the win.

Lizzie O'Connor and Whitney Hanlin both had seven kills for the Braves, who see their season come to a close with a 13-19 record. Hanlin added 23 assists while Andrea Laza had 11 digs.