Oct. 6, 2009

 

Final Stats

 

DURHAM, N.C. - Belinda Behncke-Biney notched her second consecutive double-double with 10 kills and a career-high 18 digs, but it wasn't enough to push the Eagles past Coppin State Tuesday night, falling in the Battle of the Eagles, 3-2 (25-19, 25-18, 23-25, 22-25 and 12-15). Coppin State rallied from two sets down to earn their first victory of the season.

North Carolina Central University (7-17) overpowered Coppin State (1-19), taking the first two sets of the match. The Eagles hit a .312 with 14 kills and four errors in the second set, which was their best performance of the night. With NCCU up two sets to none, the Eagles had one more set to win in order to take away a victory, but Coppin State wasn't done. The Coppin State Eagles rallied back to win three-straight sets, claiming a 3-2 win.

The Eagles put on one of their best performances statistically with season-highs in assists and digs. Offensively, Kiara Brown set a new career-high mark with 44 of the Eagles' 50 assists. The Eagles recorded 81 digs with Raven King leading the way. She notched 21 digs, while Behncke-Biney added 18.

NCCU outnumbered Coppin State in four different categories, including digs and assists. The Eagles had their second best offensive performance of the season with 53 kills, compared to Coppin State's 48. Avaniki Campbell earned a .286 hitting percentage with 14 kills to lead the Eagles on offense. Shantel Moore was second with a .222 hitting percentage and 10 kills.

Also contributing on offense for the Eagles was freshman Courtney Williams and sophomore Tasha-Gaye Richards. Williams recorded a season-high nine kills to go along with five blocks, which tied her season-high. Richards notched a career-high six kills to add to the Eagle offense.

The Eagles also managed to outnumber Coppin State in service aces, 4-3. Brown and Behncke-Biney each had two service aces. Both teams tallied eight total blocks, but the Eagles collected more solo blocks with three. Williams led the Eagles' blocking game with five, while Richards followed with four. Coppin State's defense forced a match-high 30 errors, while NCCU forced 29.

Coppin State was anchored by Ashley Saunders with a match-high 20 kills. Saunders notched a .211 hitting percentage with only eight errors on 57 total attempts. Tricia Baczek, who came in at setter for the last three sets, recorded a team-high 27 assists, while Mercedes Maynard-Randall had 13.

Defensively, the Eagles were led by Jazmin Brown with a match-high 24 digs, followed by Jade Dudley with 15. Coppin State's blocking leader was Salena Weekly with five, four assisted and one solo.

As a team, Coppin State collected 48 kills with 29 errors on 187 total attempts, hitting .102 on the match, while NCCU hit .127 off of 181 attempts. The Coppin State Eagles had 46 assists and 68 digs

NCCU dropped to 7-17 on the season, while Coppin State improved to 1-19. Not only did Coppin State earn their first win of the season, but they earned their first win against NCCU in program history, improving to 1-2 in the series.

The Eagles will take a week off before heading to Radford, Va. to face the Radford Highlanders. The Highlanders and the Eagles will battle for the first time ever on Tuesday, Oct. 13 at 6 p.m. It will be their first meeting of the season and the Eagles first trip to Radford.

For more information on Eagles volleyball, visit the official website of NCCU Athletic at www.NCCUEaglePride.com.