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Box Score 2 |
Box Score 3 Complete Tournament Results
DURHAM, N.C. (www.NCCUEaglePride.com) – North Carolina Central University struggled to find a match win on its home court Saturday, Aug. 27, as they concluded the fifth annual Hilton RTP/NCCU Volleyball Tournament 0-3. Falling in three sets to Elon (25-16, 25-17, 25-14), in four sets to Florida Gulf Coast (15-25, 25-12, 25-13, 28-26) and in five sets to Hampton (23-25, 25-21, 25-23, 13-25, 15-5).
The Eagles began Saturday’s competition with a 9:00 a.m. match against Elon, the defending Hilton RTP/NCCU Volleyball Tournament champions. The Phoenix beat NCCU in three straight sets, 25-16, 25-17, 25-14.
While Elon had nine student-athletes to hit over 40 percent, it was the absence of three NCCU starters that made this morning’s contest an unlevel playing field for Eagles, which sophomores Jzima-Malaki Kalao and Kalin Russell and freshmen Ashley McCarthy and Dayanna Arrufat fought to level.
NCCU’s Kalao, who is the Eagles primary setter, moved in the role of right-side hitter and provided a solid performance. Kalao finished the first match with five kills on 13 attempts and one service error.
Eagles’ newcomer Arrufat hit 20 percent with six kills on 15 attempts to lead the offense. Russell and McCarthy each finished with four kills.
Maroon and gray senior Tasha-Gaye Richards also adjusted to Saturday’s roster deficiency by stepping up defensively. She led the team in digs and blocks with five digs and one block assist.
In her debut as an Eagle, freshman Alice Genna filled the setting role. The Rome, Italy native allocated 12 assists and dug four Elon attempts.
As a unit, NCCU finished with 22 kills, 20 assists, three service aces, 19 digs and one team block.
Elon found offensive leadership from Chanelle Smith. The outside hitter turned 24 attempts into 13 kills with only three errors.
Caroline Lemke and Kris Harris assisted the offense with five kills apiece for Elon. Along with her hitting responsibilities, Harris led the Phoenix in blocking with three block assists. As the libero and primary passer on defense and serve receive, Ali Dearsch finished with eight digs.
Megan McMahon and Nickie Halbert shared the Elon setting duties. McMahon distributed 18 assists, while Halbert circulated 15 assists.
Elon completed its first match of the day with 47 kills, 42 assists, six service aces, 26 digs and five team blocks.
Although, the Eagles did not walk away with the win, their four-set match displayed their ability to adjust to difficult circumstances and play as a team. Florida Gulf Coast earned its second win of the tournament in four sets, defeating NCCU, 15-25, 25-12, 25-13, 28-26.
“After our first match, I told them to just have fun and remember the basic skills we work on in practice,” said NCCU head volleyball coach Crawford-Crooks.
The mighty maroon took set one of the match early. Through communication and intensity NCCU went on a 7-0 run for a score of 9-5. While FGC chiseled away at the NCCU lead, the Eagles maintained the cushion and took a 10-point win in set one.
The host Eagles lost their momentum in sets two and three with4 serve receive errors, 13 hitting errors and an overall loss in cohesiveness. But, NCCU put the pressure on FGC in set four of the match.
“We had nothing to lose, the pressure was on them,” said Kalao. “We picked up from set one, and we just played.”
From the first serve NCCU and FGC went point-for-point. FGC pulled to various leads through its ability to put away the volleyball and with three visiting Eagles hitting in double-figures.
Nonetheless in the game volleyball, errors will even the playing field and three consecutive FGC errors tied the set 20-20. For the next 12 plays, NCCU and FGC went kill-for-kill until a missed serve by Arrufat and a defensive error by McCarthy sealed the visiting Eagles’ win.
Picking up from NCCU’s first match of the day, Arrufat and Kalao led the offense with double-digit kills. Arrufat finished with 17 kills, while Kalao finished with 10.
McCarthy proved the third strongest hitting performance with seven kills. She also contributed defensively with seven digs.
Russell and Kalao assisted on two blocks apiece. Richards displayed her consistent serving skills with three aces.
Collectively, NCCU amassed 43 kills, 37 assists, five service aces, 32 digs and two team blocks.
Three visiting Eagles finished the match with double-figure kills; Jill Hopper (16), Brittany Muse (14) and Kaitlin Holm (10).
Gigi Meyer ran the offense, allocating 47 assists in the match.
Whitney Masters dominated the defensive effort with 12 digs, while Olivia Mesner and Meyer assisted on two blocks each.
FGC completed the game with 55 kills, 48 assists, 13 service aces, 39 digs and 10 team blocks.
The highlight of the NCCU playing schedule occurred during set three of tournament, as the Eagles battle their first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opponent as a full MEAC and Division I member.
After a five-set fight to the finish, Hampton defeated NCCU, 23-25, 25-21, 25-23, 13-25, 15-5.
With senior Shantel Moore back in the maroon and gray lineup, the offensive and blocking campaign were back in motion.
NCCU took set one, hitting at 32 percent with 11 kills, 22 attempts and only four errors, limiting the reception errors to three and blocking three Lady Pirate attacks.
The Eagles lost their momentum in sets two and three. NCCU could not handle the Hampton serve, allowing four Lady Pirate aces. The mighty maroon hitting also lost its edge, as the host Eagles hit 14 percent in set two (9-6-22) and 15 percent in set three (15-9-39)
With a slew of NCCU fans in the stands, the Eagles came back to life in set four, defeating Hampton by 12 points (25-13). The maroon and gray found their swing again, pounding 10 kills on the Lady Pirates’ side.
Hampton could not break through the NCCU defense, as the Eagles accumulated three team blocks and 14 digs in the winning set.
Throughout the set, the mighty maroon kept the Lady Pirates at bay, going on four solid runs; 4-0 run for a score of 5-1, 6-0 for a score of 11-2, 3-9 run for a score of 17-11 and an 8-2 run for a score of 25-13.
Nonetheless, Hampton would not back down, taking the fifth set by 10 points and sealing their first MEAC win. As in sets two and three, the NCCU service receive collapsed, allowing Hampton to go on a 7-2 run (8-4). As Hampton reached the critical eight point of the 15-point set, the Eagles began to stifle, scoring one final point before the Lady Pirates went on a final run for the win.
Moore’s return to the NCCU lineup allowed Genna options in terms of setting and a chance for Kalao to return to her offensive leadership role. Moore finished the night with 14 kill, 31 attempts and seven errors. Arrufat remained a hitting leader with 12 kills, 33 attempts and nine errors.
Along with her 28 assists, Kalao concluded the night with eight kills, 17 attempts and three errors. Genna continued providing a solid setting performance with 17 assists.
McCarthy maintained her defensive edge, amassing 10 digs, while Russell obtained defensive action in the back row and finished with nine digs. Moore and McCarthy assisted on four blocks each, and Richards assisted with three blocks.
The mighty maroon put away 50 of 117 attempts on the night, dug 38 Hampton attacks and tallied 10 team blocks.
Mianna Armstrong and Sheileen Pagan led Hampton with 13 and 10 kills, respectively. Sonja Maksimovic and Petra Parros finished with nine kills apiece.
Lihi Elkayam circulated 27 assists, while Armstrong amassed 10 digs. Parros assisted on four blocks.
As a unit, Hampton concluded the tournament with 49 kills on 121 attempts, 33 digs and six team blocks.
NCCU ends the fifth annual Hilton RTP/NCCU Volleyball Tournament 0-4.
The Phoenix of Elon University went on the win the Hilton RTP/NCCU Volleyball Tournament for the third year in a row.
The Eagles return to action on Tuesday, Aug. 30 for their first regular season home-opener against Davidson. The first serve is slated for 7:00 p.m.
2011 NCCU Hilton/RTP Tournament All-Tournament Team
Jordan Reaves, Campbell
Mianna Armstrong, Hampton
Brittany Muse, Florida Gulf Coast
Dayanna Arrufat, North Carolina Central
Caroline Lemke, Elon
Jzima-Malaki Kalao, North Carolina Central
Most Valuable Player: Carly Ledbetter, Elon
