DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University volleyball team concluded its debut at the Duke Volleyball Invitational Saturday evening with a 3-0 loss to the University of Delaware at Cameron Indoor Stadium as the Eagles fell to the Blue Hens by scores of 25-13, 25-12 and 25-12.

Senior outside hitter Belinda Behncke-Biney was named to the Duke Volleyball Invitational All-Tournament Team for her outstanding performance over the weekend on both offense and defense, marking her second of the season. She capped off the weekend with a team-high five kills, one assist and seven digs against the Blue Hens.

Behncke-Biney finished the two-day event with 24 kills on 83 attempts, averaging 2.67 kills per set. She also had 14 digs, two assists, two aces and two blocks, while averaging 3.00 points per set.

Assisting Behncke-Biney on offense was freshman setter Jzima-Malaki Kalao, who totaled 11 assists, one kill, one service ace and two blocks, tying with Sashalee Wallen as the Eagles blocking threat. Along with two blocks, Wallen notched a .167 with two kills, making her the lone Eagle to record a positive hitting percentage.

Junior transfer Emanuelle Santos added three kills to the mix, while Maritsann Sinclair rounded out the Eagle offense with two kills. NCCU notched 13 kills on 76 attacks with 21 errors, while dropping in four aces. Wallen Santos and Alexis John joined Kalao with an ace from the service line.

On the defensive side, junior libero Raven King led the way with nine of the Eagles’ 30 digs, followed by Behncke-Biney with seven and Kalao with six. Contributing on the net for NCCU was Kalin Russell and Santos with a block apiece as the Eagles totaled three blocks on the match.

NCCU came out on fire as they took control of the first set, staying on top for the first seven points of the match. With the score knotted at four apiece, an 11-4 run by the Blue Hens would give them a 14-7 lead as Alissa Alker served for six of Delaware’s 14 points in the stretch. The Eagles were unable to recover as the Blue Hens allowed just six more points from NCCU and claimed a 25-13 win.

Delaware opened the second set on fire as they jumped out to a 5-1 lead. NCCU managed to knot the score at one, but that was the closest they would come. The Blue Hens earned nine of the first 12 points, claiming a 9-3 lead and their dominance didn’t stop there as they cruised to a 25-12 win after closing the set out with a 16-9 run.

The third set was almost like a mirror image of the second as the Blue Hens jumped out to a 10-4 lead. NCCU managed to get back within four, but it wasn’t enough to keep Delaware off the scoreboard. A 12-3 run by the Blue Hens put the set out of reach for the Eagles as Delaware led 22-9.

NCCU racked in three back-to-back points as Sinclair grabbed a kill, Kalao dropped in an ace and Blue Hen Logan Sebastian collected an attack error to put the score at 23-12. Delaware grabbed its last two points off an NCCU attack error and a service ace to take a 25-12 win, giving them a 3-0 victory.
Delaware, a Colonial Athletic Association powerhouse, hit .345 on the match with 38 kills and just nine errors led by the play of Kim Stewart, who notched eight kills and hit a .400. The Blue Hens dropped in eight service aces and tallied 37 assists. Defensively, Delaware notched 36 digs and four blocks.

The Blue Hens had four student-athletes hit above .400, including a .714 clip from Katie Hank and a .600 mark from Chelsea Lawrence. Jess Chason collected 28 assists, while the serving line was dominated by Katie Dennehy, an All-Tournament Team selection, with three aces.

Delaware’s defensive efforts were anchored by Greta Gibboney and Paige Erickson. Gibboney recorded a match-high 14 digs to go along with four assists, while Erickson, the CAA Co-Offensive Player of the Week, tallied four blocks to control the Blue Hens’ blocking game. Chason added three blocks.

NCCU dropped to 1-8 on the season and took home a 0-3 mark in tournament play, while Delaware improved to 7-3 on the season and left the tournament with a 1-2 mark.

The Eagles return to action on Tuesday, Sept. 14 when they travel to Davidson, N.C. to face the Wildcats of Davidson College. The Eagles and the Wildcats will kick-off at 7 p.m. in Belk Arena. Tuesday will mark the first meeting between NCCU and Davidson in program history as the Eagles look to end their four-match losing skid.

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.