PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – The offensive struggles continued for the North Carolina Central University volleyball team (4-18) this weekend as they finished the UMES Hawk Invitational with a 1-2 mark, while freshman setter Jzima-Malaki Kalao locked in her third All-Tournament Team honor with 81 assists and 14 digs.
NCCU opened tournament play on Friday with Maryland Eastern Shore. Just like their previous meeting, the host swept the Eagles in three straight sets by scores of 25-12, 25-20 and 25-13. The Hawks jumped to .500 on the season for the first time this year as they took a 9-9 mark, while the Eagles fell to 3-17.
The Eagles managed to put the loss behind them and they bounced back Saturday morning to open day two action with a sweep over Coppin State, defeating the Eagles 25-19, 25-23 and 28-26. It was a tough battle that saw 16 tie scores and three lead changes, but NCCU pushed past Coppin State to improve to 4-17 on the year. The Coppin State Eagles dropped to 2-13 on the season with the loss.
Unfortunately, the Eagles couldn’t finish the tournament with the momentum on their side as Hampton, once again, gave the Eagles all they could handle as they defeated NCCU for the third straight time this season by scores of 25-22, 25-22 and 25-20. Hampton improved to 4-16 with the win, while NCCU dropped to 4-18.
Senior outside hitter Belinda Behncke-Biney hit a .209 with a team-high 31 kills to anchor the Eagle offense. The Hamburg, Germany, native not only contributed on the net offensively, but she made an impact on all areas of the floor with five service aces, 18 digs and two blocks. She also notched her third double-double of the season with 18 kills and 12 digs in the Eagles’ victory over Coppin State this morning.
Maritsann Sinclair, the junior from Kingston, Jamaica, continues to surprise Eagle fans as she put on another outstanding performance for the second straight weekend. She recorded a .200 hitting percentage with 24 kills, while collecting 12 digs and four blocks. Against Coppin State, Sinclair notched her second double-digit kill performance of the year with 15 kills. She was Behncke-Biney’s offensive counterpart.
NCCU’s middle dominated on both sides of the net this weekend as the powerful duo of Sashalee Wallen and Tasha-Gaye Richards showed strength and power for the Eagles. Wallen and Richards totaled 12 kills apiece with each of them hitting above .300. Wallen controlled the Eagles’ blocking game with a team-high nine blocks, while collecting eight digs. Richards added six blocks, while freshman Kalin Russell contributed eight.
Anchoring the Eagles’ defense was junior Raven King with a team-high 21 digs, including 11 digs against Coppin State. King also contributed on the offensive end with three service aces.
The Eagles averaged 10.22 kills per set over the weekend with 92 kills and a .190 hitting percentage. They dished 84 assists, while dropping in 13 service aces. On the defensive end, the Eagles stayed consistent on the net with 15.5 total blocks, out-numbering two of their three opponents. They also collected 87 digs.
Maryland Eastern Shore, who took away the UMES Hawk Invitational title, used a balanced attack to defeat the Eagles in three sets as they had three Hawk student-athletes record double-figure kills as Maline Vaitai, Zoe Bowens and Samantha Chukwura all collected 10 kills to lead to a .375 attack percentage. Stephanie Sierra led the way with 20 assists and eight digs, while Vaitai followed with seven digs.
The Hawks proved to be too much this weekend as they notched three players on the All-Tournament Team. Bowens was named the tournament Most Valuable Player, while Vaitai and Kaveinga Lea’Aetoa were named to the All-Tournament Team.
Coppin State was led by All-Tournament Team honoree Ashley Saunders, who notched a double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs. She was assisted by Haley Beechler with 31 assists, while Alexandria Malesick led the way with two assisted blocks for the Eagles as they hit just .192 in the match with 35 kills and 16 errors.
Hampton was led by the hitting duo of Aaryn Harrison and Sheileen Pagan with 10 kills apiece, as Lihi Elkayam dished 27 assists. Harrison, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, also led the way in blocks with three. Pagan and Ivana Suput anchored the defense with seven digs each, followed by Mianna Armstrong with six.
The Pirates were the only team in the tournament to out-number the Eagles in blocks, 4.5-4.0, as they hit .192 on the day with 32 kills and 18 errors. Defensively, the Pirates tallied 10 service aces, 29 assists and 26 digs.
NCCU will look to rebound this week as they head to Greensboro, N.C., on Wednesday, Oct. 6 to face rival North Carolina A&T State University. It will be the first meeting of the season between the Aggies and the Eagles as NCCU looks to regain its momentum. First serve is set for 6 p.m. at the Ellis F. Corbett Sports Center.
For more information on Eagle Volleyball or for up-to-date scores and statistics, visit the official website of NCCU Athletics at www.NCCUEaglePride.com.
