FLORENCE, SC – Francis Marion University rallied from a late three-point deficit in set four while fighting off three set points to claim a dramatic four-set win (25-18, 25-17, 16-25, 26-24) over the University of Montevallo, Friday night (Nov. 15) in Peach Belt Conference women's volleyball action.

Francis Marion avenges an earlier loss to the Falcons in Alabama while improving to 21-7 overall and 12-5 in the Peach Belt.  Montevallo drops to 18-10 and 10-7. 

The Patriots will close out their regular season by hosting Columbus State University on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Smith University Center.  A win would clinch the second seed for FMU as the Patriots will host the PBC Tournament on Nov. 22-24.

Prior to Friday's match, Francis Marion honored its four seniors: Jessica Imbimbo, Megan Mooney, Paige Perreault, and Kailey Smith.  The four responded for a combined 25 kills, 42 assists, 34 digs, five service aces, and three blocks.

Imbimbo led the way with a match-high 17 kills, while digging up nine balls.  Smith handed out 41 assists and had 12 digs, while Perreault recorded 12 digs and served three aces, the final of which ended the match.  Mooney tallied eight kills to surpass 600 for her career.

FMU junior libero Rebekah Davis registered a team-high 24 digs, while junior Emily Sears and sophomore Alexzandra Reed had 13 and 11 kills respectively.

Michelle Carle led Montevallo with 10 kills, while setter Hannah Christie dished out 25 assists and libero Kaleigh Harvey dug up 24 balls.

FMU jumped out to a 4-0 lead in set one and never trailed.  The early start was improved to 6-0 in the second set and again the Patriots never trailed.  Montevallo prolonged the match with a relatively easy 25-16 win in set three.

The Falcons led by as many as seven points in set four, 14-7, but the Patriots rallied to within 15-14 after an attack error by Montevallo.  The Falcons recovered to extend their advantage to 23-17 and led 24-21 after a Patriot attack error.  Imbimbo started the rally with a kill off a Sloane Shank set.  With Perreault serving, Montevallo committed a ball-handling, Imbimbo pounded another kill, and the Falcons hit a ball into the net putting FMU up 25-24 and setting the stage for Perreault's match-ending ace.