ORANGEBURG, S.C. – The North Carolina Central University volleyball team (1-10) jumped out to a quick 25-15 win over South Carolina State University (2-10) Friday afternoon to open the South Carolina State Spikefest, but the Lady Bulldogs refused to back down as they rallied from one set down to claim a 3-1 win over the Eagles in the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center, defeating the Eagles 15-25, 25-21, 25-14 and 25-17.

The Eagles relied on their powerful defense to control the Lady Bulldog attack as NCCU out-numbered South Carolina State in blocks and digs with 11 and 33, respectively. Freshman middle hitter Kalin Russell paced the Eagle blocking game with a season-high eight blocks, including a solo shot. She also added four kills on offense.

Senior outside hitter Belinda Behncke-Biney paced the Eagle offense with 10 kills and three service aces. Junior transfer Emanuelle Santos recorded eight kills and led the NCCU defensive efforts with eight digs. She also had three blocks. Russell notched a .429 clip on the offensive end to lead the Eagles in hitting percentage.

Contributing to the NCCU offense was freshman setter Jzima-Malaki Kalao with 21 assists, while adding a block and seven digs on defense. Rounding out the Eagles’ blocking game was Alexis John with four assisted blocks and Sashalee Wallen with three. Raven King also added seven digs on defense, followed by John with six. 

NCCU put on its best performance of the match in the opening set as they hammered a .529 with 10 kills and just one error on 17 attempts. They held the Lady Bulldogs to a .000 hitting percentage with eight kills. South Carolina State took control of the set, but as the Eagles knotted the score at four, they turned up the heat. NCCU jumped out to its first lead of the game and stayed in front for the rest of the set as they claimed a 25-15 victory.

Behncke-Biney served the last six points of the set, including dropping in two service aces. She notched a .750 clip, followed by John with a .600 mark. The Eagles totaled seven assists and 10 digs in the set, while the Lady Bulldogs had just seven assists and four digs. NCCU forced eight South Carolina State errors.

After dropping the first set, the Eagles faced a different Lady Bulldog team as the Bulldogs took the next three sets to claim a 3-1 win over NCCU in the opening game of the South Carolina State Spikefest. South Carolina State forced a negative hitting performance from NCCU in the last two sets as the Eagles struggled to find their offense. The second set saw the Eagles hit .174 with 10 kills and six errors on 23 attempts.

South Carolina State picked up the pace with a .267 in the second set and put on its best performance in the third when they notched a .364 with 12 kills and just four errors on 22 attempts. NCCU picked up its defensive efforts in the fourth set as they held South Carolina State to a .040 hitting percentage with eight kills and seven errors.

The Lady Bulldogs combined for 41 kills on the day as the Eagles totaled 31 kills with both teams grabbing 24 errors. South Carolina State dropped in eight service aces and collected eight blocks on defense.

South Carolina State was led by Shabree Roberson with 11 kills, while Peri Ligons and Elizabeth Webb added nine kills apiece. Bulldog setter Bria Brimmer collected 33 of South Carolina State’s 37 assists.

On the defensive end, the Lady Bulldogs were led by Melissa Robinson, Webb and Tiffane’ Jackson. Robinson had nine digs, followed by Webb with seven. Jackson dominated on the net with five assisted blocks.

The Eagles return to action at 4 p.m. when they conclude day one of the South Carolina State Spikefest with the Bears of Mercer. Mercer and NCCU will meet for the first time in program history as the Eagles look to regain their momentum and snap their losing skid.

NCCU dropped to 1-10 on the season and extended their losing streak to six, while South Carolina State improved to 2-10 on the season and snapped their nine-match losing skid. They will conclude the day with a 6 p.m. match-up with Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference foe Hampton.

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.