DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina Central University seniors Kelsey Murphy and Casey Curran both ripped season-high kill totals and Murphy moved into first place as NCCU's NCAA Division I career kills leader during Friday's five-set showdown against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Southern Division rival North Carolina A&T State University inside McDougald-McLendon Arena.
 
The Aggies hit .333 in the final frame to dominate the decisive set and edge the Lady Eagles 3-2 (25-22, 24-26, 25-19, 20-25, 15-7). North Carolina A&T (7-11 Overall, 4-1 MEAC) remains second in the Southern Division. NCCU (3-13, 2-3) continues to cling to the final playoff position in fourth place, but does fall two-games behind third-place Bethune-Cookman University.
 
NCCU HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:
Murphy and Curran both had double-doubles in their big outings. Murphy totaled 15 kills and a team-high 18 digs. Curran blasted a team-high 18 kills and made 12 digs. Junior setter Paige Phillips tallied her own double-double with 41 assist and 14 digs.
 
Murphy entered Friday's match tied for the DI era record (since 2007) in career kills at 831 with Belinda Behncke-Biney. Murphy's season-high 15 kills puts her in first place at 846 with six regular season matches left to her final season. NCCU's all-time career kills leader is Shari Matthews (1447 in two seasons that overlapped the Lady Eagles DII era from 2006-2007).
 
Curran's 18 kills were are career-high in a maroon and gray uniform.
 
Sophomore Whitney White reached double-digit kills as well with 11 spikes. White led all players with eight combined blocks (one solo, seven assists) to finish with 15.5 points.
 
NCCU made 78 combined digs (most in 2016), with five total players garnering double figures. Sophomore libero Bree Simmons scooped up 15 digs and classmate Kierra Shipman added 13 digs.
 
Simmons accounted for two of NCCU's three aces and Phillips was part of six of the squads' 13 blocks.
 
NORTH CAROLINA A&T HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:
The Aggies were led by a pair of 6-foot-1 junior outside hitters in Samara Brown and Alyssa Pitt, who both registered double-doubles. Pitt notched a match-high 19 kills and made 13 digs while Brown hammered down 15 kills and made a match-high 22 digs.
 
North Carolina A&T was even more impressive on defense with 96 total digs. Senior setter Liz Martino and sophomore libero Keniah Rivera both logged 21 digs. Martino set up the Aggies offense that hit .148 with 46 assists.
 
Freshman Christa Wilson supplied 11 kills and junior Jasmine Lindor posted eight kills and a team-high six blocks (two solo, four assists).
 
SET-BY-SET:
1ST: The opener was the only set without any lead changes. The Aggies had NCCU doubled up, 8-4, early but a couple kills by White tied the score up for the only two times at 14-14 and 15-15. North Carolina A&T won the next two points and had eight kills on its last 10 points to win by three.
 
2ND: NCCU fell behind 7-2 early but quickly rallied and eventually held a slim advantage down the stretch. After surrendering their first two chances at set point, the Lady Eagles used a block by White and Curran to regain the lead before Curran tied the match up with a kill.
 
3RD: Deadlocked at 14-all, the Aggies managed to win the next four points to start an 11-5 closing rally to regain the team lead at 2-1.
 
4TH: The two teams were once again tied around the midway mark at 13-13, but this time NCCU had the surge with a 5-1 outburst to jump in front. The Lady Eagles stayed in front and consecutive kills off the arms of White and Curran ended the five-point win in favor of the hosts.
 
5TH: After trading points through the first three rotations, NCAT rattled off five straight points to take a big 8-3 lead as the teams switched ends of the court. Another string of three consecutive points by the Aggies ended any chance of an NCCU comeback as the visitors won the shorted race to 15 by eight points.
 
OTHER NOTES, STATS & FACTS:
NCCU slips to 14-6 against North Carolina A&T in its DI era (since 2007).
 
UP NEXT:
NCCU will conclude the home portion of its schedule with a pair of MEAC tilts next weekend. The Lady Eagles will first host South Carolina State University on Friday at 7 p.m., and then entertain Savannah State University on Sunday's Senior Day at 1 p.m. For more information, fans are encouraged to visit www.NCCUEaglePride.com.