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DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University volleyball team struggled to defend their home court Friday as they opened the fourth annual Hilton RTP/NCCU Volleyball Tournament with a 0-3 mark after falling in three straight sets to Gardner-Webb, Charleston Southern and the University of Texas at El Paso.

Senior Belinda Behncke-Biney continued her dominance on the outside as she led the Eagles with 29 kills on the day, while adding three service aces. She recorded double-digit kills in two of the Eagles’ three matches. Her best outing came in the final match of the day, where she hammered a .292 with 12 kills and just five errors. Defensively, Behncke-Biney totaled 14 digs and three blocks.

Baldwin, N.Y., native Kalin Russell made her freshman debut in the middle for the Eagles, totaling nine kills and hitting .148 on the day with her best outing coming against Charleston Southern, where she hit .286 with six kills and five block assists. She was one of three Eagles to lead NCCU in blocking with seven total blocks.

Taking on the setter role and making her collegiate debut was freshman Jzima-Malaki Kalao. The Bubendorf, Switzerland, native led the team in assists with 63, while standing second in hitting percentage with a .222 on the day. To go along with 63 assists, she also contributed on defense with 14 digs.

Putting on the most all-around performance of the day for the Eagles was junior utility player Sashalee Wallen, who anchored the middle for the Eagles. Wallen hit a .250 clip to lead NCCU on offense with 13 kills, while contributing seven blocks on defense, including four solo.

Another solid blocking performance came from senior right side Shantel Moore, who added seven total blocks to the Eagle defense.  Moore was fierce from the service line with four aces, while adding 15 kills to the NCCU offensive efforts.

Outside of the Eagles’ hovering blocking game, their 91 digs were led by Alexis John and Raven King. John, who is new to the defensive specialist position, led the way with 24 digs, while King, the Eagles’ returning libero, racked in 15. Behncke-Biney, Moore and Kalao tied with 14 digs apiece.

Gardner-Webb and NCCU battled first as the Lady Bulldogs defeated the Eagles, 3-0, by scores of 25-16, 25-17 and 25-22. Gardner-Webb came out firing as they hit .280 in the first set. NCCU managed to cool them down as the Lady Bulldogs took the match off a .178 outing with 32 kills, 28 assists, 38 digs and six blocks.

The Lady Bulldogs were led by Laura Wilcox, who recorded a .421 clip after tallying nine kills and contributed seven digs. Their blocking power was Tyler Cockrell, who totaled four blocks.

The Eagles weren’t as lucky as the season-opening nerves began to set in. NCCU struggled to find an offense and defense with 27 kills and 21 assists with a .000 hitting percentage. Defensively, the Eagles finished with 34 digs and four blocks, while suffering from 27 errors on offense.

NCCU’s second match of the day was against the Buccaneers of Charleston Southern, where they fell in three sets by scores of 25-17, 25-21 and 25-17. It started out as a reflection of the previous match as the Eagles struggled to find a rhythm, but the third set showed a different Eagle team as they hit .258 with 11 kills to put on their best performance of the day. Defensively, they totaled 36 digs and eight blocks.

Charleston Southern showed their strength throughout the day as they hit .194 on the match with 31 kills, 29 assists and five service aces. They were in control from first serve, but it was the third set that put the finishing touches on the victory as the Buccaneers used the third set to hammer a .565 with 16 kills and just three errors.

Leading the Buccaneers was senior Amanda Hill, who hit an astonishing .429 with 15 kills. Her partner in crime was Amberle Trinder with five kills and a .231 hitting percentage. Defensively, Charleston Southern was led by Tricia Rodl with 11 digs and Kayla Klinger with three block assists.

NCCU concluded day one action with the mighty Miners of UTEP, falling by scores of 25-22, 25-17 and 25-15. It proved to be a tough match for the Eagles, who allowed costly errors to keep them away from victory. UTEP’s powerful offense wasn’t much help for NCCU as the Miners hammered a .423 with 44 kills and just 11 errors.

The Miners had three student-athletes hit above .500 in the match as Jacqueline Cason led the way with an .889 clip. She was assisted by Patty Jarmoc with a .625 outing and a match-high 30 assists. Along with their offensive game, the Miners brought their defense as they totaled 28 digs and six blocks with the help of Kyla Muela with five assisted.

The Eagles fought hard in the first set to fall by just three points before the Miners picked up the pace. NCCU hit .115 in the match with 31 kills, but 21 errors kept them out of reach of a victory. The Eagle defensive game put up five total blocks and 21 digs to hang with the Miners on defense. Unfortunately, a crowd of 238 wasn’t enough to push the Eagles forward for a victory as they fell in their final match of the day.

NCCU returns to action tomorrow (Saturday) to conclude the Hilton RTP/NCCU Volleyball Tournament. The Eagles will face the high flying Phoenix of Elon at 11 a.m. before concluding with Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference foe Delaware State at 7 p.m. Elon comes into the tournament as the defending champions and are currently 2-0 going into day two action, while the Hornets of Delaware State stand at 1-1.

For more information on Eagle Volleyball and to receive up-to-date information on the Hilton RTP/NCCU Volleyball Tournament, visit the official website of NCCU Athletics at www.NCCUEaglePride.com.