Sept. 8, 2009
Match Notes - North Carolina Central vs. Howard
DURHAM, N.C. - The North Carolina Central University Eagles will host Howard in their first regular season home match of the 2009 season on Thursday, Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. in McLendon-McDougald Gymnasium. Thursday will mark the second all-time meeting between the Eagles and the Bison.
Howard stands at 0-7 on the season with losses to Duquesne, Radford, Bowling Green, Robert Morris, Elon, Liberty and East Tennessee State. The Bison will host Loyola on Wednesday at 7 p.m. before heading to Durham to face the Eagles.
The Bison are led by junior outside hitter Gazelle D'Artois, who was named to the Liberty Invitational All-Tournament Team after hitting a .217 in all three matches of the tournament. D'Artois has 81 kills and 53 digs this season, while adding six service aces and seven blocks. She was a 2008 All-MEAC First Team selection.
NCCU stands at 1-6 on the season with losses to Georgia State, The Citadel, Elon, Virginia, Campbell and VCU. Their lone victory was against Big South powerhouse High Point, who they defeated 3-2 in their season-opener. The Eagles are led by outside hitters Avaniki Campbell and Shantel Moore.
Campbell leads the Eagles on offense, hitting .146 with 48 kills. The senior leads the team in service aces with 13 and blocks with 31. Of her 31 blocks, seven are solo. On defense, she tallied 25 digs. Campbell was named to the Hilton RTP/NCCU Volleyball All-Tournament Team.
Moore is second on the team in hitting percentage, hitting .133. She leads the team in kills with 54 and is second on the team in assists with 13. The junior is second in digs with 47 and second in blocks with 16. Moore has recorded two double-doubles so far this season and was named to the Holiday Inn Jefferson Cup All-Tournament Team.
NCCU and Howard last met on Oct. 14, 2008 in Washington, D.C., which was the first meeting between the two teams. The Bison have a 1-0 advantage in the series after defeating the Eagles, 3-0. Howard will face NCCU for the first time in McLendon-McDougald Gym. The Eagles will look to even the series on Thursday.
Eagle fans will be able to catch all of the action online at www.NCCUEaglePride.com, where Chris Hooks, the play-by-play voice of the Eagles, will call live action from McLendon-McDougald Gym. Fans can listen to the Eagles take on the Bison. Eagle Gameday, the pre-match show, will air 15 minutes prior to first serve.
Following Thursday's match, the Eagles will head to Rock Hill, S.C., to participate in the Hilton Garden Inn Invitational, hosted by Winthrop University. The tournament will take place Sept. 11-12 in the Winthrop Coliseum. The Eagles will take on Butler, Morgan State and Winthrop in the tournament.
Game statistics and a game recap will be available online following the match. For more information on Eagles volleyball, visit the official website of NCCU Athletics at www.NCCUEaglePride.com.
