Sept. 18, 2009

Final Stats

ORANGEBURG, S.C. - The North Carolina Central University volleyball team dropped a pair of matches in their opening day at the South Carolina State Spikefest, falling to both The Citadel and Charleston Southern in Friday action. NCCU finished with a 0-2 record in the tournament and dropped to 1-12 on the season.

In their first match of the day, the Eagles faced The Citadel Bulldogs in a rematch from earlier in the season, where the Bulldogs defeated NCCU and earned their first and only victory of the season. It was déjà vu all over again for the Eagles, who managed to take one set away before eventually falling, 3-1 (18-25, 25-23, 16-25 and 16-25). The Citadel earned another win off of the Eagles, improving to 2-11 on the season, while the Eagles continued their struggles, dropping to 1-11 on the season.

Belinda Behncke-Biney recorded a season-high 18 kills in the battle, which tied her career-high. Her .231 hitting percentage helped spark the Eagles' offense, while Avaniki Campbell contributed with eight kills off a .333 hitting performance. Campbell, a strong performer from the service line, added three aces.

Another strong contributor on offense was Alexis John, who earned an All-Tournament honor last weekend at the Hilton Garden Inn Invitational. John added four kills on offense and hit .214 to be the third and final person to tally a positive hitting percentage in the match, tying her career-high in kills.

One thing that has been consistent for the Eagles all season has been their blocking game, and that did not change today. The Eagles were dominant on the defensive end with 14 blocks on the match. Campbell collected almost half of the team's blocks with a match-high five blocks. She was assisted by Behncke-Biney, John and Sashalee Wallen, each with two.

Freshman Courtney Williams contributed three kills, two digs and one block in her collegiate debut. The Dacula, Ga., native played in her first match as an Eagle and was productive on offense and defense.

NCCU hit .071 with 39 kills on 113 total attacks. The Eagles had 34 assists with Kiara Brown leading the way with 21, and tied with The Citadel in the digs category with 39. The Citadel hit .221 off of 48 kills on 122 total attacks and had 11 blocks on defense.

The Bulldogs were led by Tatum Jestila and Rachael Farrell, who each recorded double-digit kills with 11 and 14, respectively. Jestila added 10 digs to her kills to earn a double-double. Alyssa Holum added 22 assists on offense for the Bulldogs, while Amanda Beal led on defense with four blocks.

The Eagles hit the hardwood once again at 7 p.m. for the night cap of their doubleheader. NCCU faced another Charleston team in Charleston Southern. Unfortunately, the Eagles' struggles would continue. The Buccaneers' offensive power dominated the Eagles, riding a .508 hitting percentage to a 3-0 victory.

NCCU fell to Charleston Southern by scores of 18-25, 7-25 and 12-25. The Buccaneers had four players hit over .600 with one player hammering a .750. Charleston Southern had 36 kills and only four assists. Defensively, they had 10 blocks and 15 digs, which halted the Eagles' offense.

The Eagles were led by Campbell on offense with seven kills on 20 total attacks. Right behind Campbell on offense was Behncke-Biney, who had five kills on 19 attacks. As a team, NCCU recorded 20 kills and 24 errors on 67 total attacks. Defensively, they had 19 digs and four blocks.

On offense, Brown had nine of the team's 17 assists, while Cara Hill collected six. Raven King led the Eagles on defense with seven digs, followed by John with four. On the net, Campbell led in blocks with two, while Tocarra Jones and Behncke-Biney each added one.

Charleston Southern was led by Amanda Hill on offense with 12 kills on 18 total attacks, hammering a .667. The Buccaneer defense was led by Tricia Rodl with six digs, while Hill added five. Cori Holeman and Sam Sasan each had four blocks to claim eight of the Bucaneers' 10 blocks. Sasan also added 29 assists to the offense.

With the completion of the first day of the tournament, the Eagles stand at 1-12 on the season, struggling to get over the hump. The Eagles' loss to The Citadel allowed them to even the series against the Eagles with both teams claiming two wins. Charleston Southern added to their advantage over the Eagles, now standing with a 3-1 lead in the series. The Buccaneers are now 6-6 on the season.

NCCU will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 19 when they face tournament-host South Carolina State and Alabama State in the final day of competition. The Eagles will face the Bulldogs at 11 a.m. before battling the Hornets at 3 p.m. to conclude the tournament.

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