DURHAM, N.C. – A total of 30 ties and 11 lead changes were exchanged as the North Carolina Central University volleyball squad suffered a 3-0 (25-21, 28-26, 26-24) setback while playing host to the Elon Phoenix on Tuesday, Sept. 23, inside McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium.

Sophomore Kelsey Murphy (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) finished the night with a career-best four service aces while also collecting her second double-double of the season with 10 kills and 11 digs.

After Elon scored the opening three points of the first set, the Eagles took a 6-1 run, led by two Denni Johnson (Ashburn, Va.) service aces, to give them the two point advantage and forcing a Phoenix timeout.

The two teams swapped points back-and-forth for the remainder of the set, until a kill from senior Da'sha Brown (Gaston, S.C.) gave NCCU the 20-19 lead late in the game.

Elon head coach Mary Tendler used her final timeout of the set before the Phoenix used a 6-1 run to close the match, earning the 25-21 victory.

The second set saw a total of 19 ties before Elon took a late 24-21 lead over NCCU.

With match-point in favor of the Phoenix, the Eagles converted back-to-back Elon errors into points, and tied the set at 24 after a double block from junior Kelly Rossip (Port Charlotte, Fla.) and Murphy.  

The Phoenix, regained their momentum, finishing out the set with the 28-26 triumph.

After exchanging points early on during the third set, NCCU pulled away with an early four-point lead over Elon after a Brown kill set the score at 8-4.

The Eagles maintained their advantage and offensive momentum for the majority of the game until the Phoenix rallied a late 3-1 run after a NCCU timeout, knotting the set at 21.

After one more tie at 24, Elon closed the third and final set with a 26-24 victory.

In addition to Murphy's 10 kills, Brown finished with a team-best 12 on the night while Johnson tallied six and rookie Paige Phillips (Birmingham, Ala.) earned 26 assists.

Defensively, junior Marilyn Sherbondy (Fayetteville, N.C.) added 13 digs to Murphy's 11 and senior Ashley McCarthy (Elmont, N.Y.) collected a game-high five blocks.

NCCU returns to action on Friday, Sept. 26 as the Eagles open Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference action on the road, taking on the rival Aggies from North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, N.C., at 7 p.m.