FLORENCE, S.C. - After three straight wins, Newberry's streak came to an end with a 3-1 (20-25,25-21, 25-18 25-22) loss against UNC Pembroke at the Francis Marion Invitational on Saturday.

Things looked up early for the Wolves. Two straight attack errors by Tiara Anderson gave Newberry a first set, 10-9 lead which it never relinquished. Two kills by Madison Schultz (Decatur, Ind.) got the Wolves to set point. She finished with a team-high 15 kills in the match. After UNC Pembroke fought off two attack points, a kill by Anne Staudinger (Fort Wayne, Ind.) gave the Wolves a one-set lead.

Schultz deflected a lot of the credit to her teammates.

"I have to give a lot of credit to the setters. We really connected today," Schultz said. "I knew where the open holes were and we worked as a team to execute."

Both setters, Blair Browning (New Lexington, Ohio) and Chelsea Mayor (Sugar Land, Texas) each had 21 assists.

The Braves turned up the heat on the Wolves beginning in set two. Newberry (3-1) fell down early but came storming back in the second set. After being down 17-14, Schultz led Newberry to a tie match with three straight points including two thunderous kills and a solo block.

UNC Pembroke surged ahead again finishing the set on an 8-4 run.

The Braves continued their momentum in to the third set jumping out to a 7-1 lead. Newberry cut the lead to three with a Samantha Parrish (Angola, Ind.) kill. An attack error cut the Braves' lead to two points. Browning made an outstanding dig and Schultz finished it off to get the wolves within one point at 12-11.

But, Newberry couldn't get over the hump as the Braves put together four straight points to extend their lead to 16-11. The Wolves attempted their second comeback of the set and Amanda Soper's (Simi Valley, Calif.) blast got the Wolves within two at 18-16, but that was as close as the Wolves would get. UNC Pembroke finished the set on a 7-2 run.

An 8-3 run to begin the fourth set forced Nicholson to call timeout. The timeout didn't help the Wolves as the Braves continued to increase their lead going up 18-12. Newberry began to come alive forcing two Braves' timeouts on a 5-1 run highlighted by Anne Staudinger's (Fort Wayne, Ind.) kill which gracefully floated over a potential blocker's head. The run got the Wolves within two at 19-17.

A Parrish kill got the Wolves within a point at 23-22, but two straight kills by the Braves finished off Newberry. She finished with 12 kills, her fourth straight double digit kill match.

"I'm disappointed we lost," head coach Dave Nicholson said. "However, I'm excited with the way we played this weekend."