DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University volleyball team opens its 2014 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference slate as the Eagles travel to Greensboro, N.C., to take on the rival Aggies of North Carolina A&T during a 7 p.m., match-up inside Moore Gymnasium.

LAST TIME OUT
NCCU (0-16) 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.
A total of 30 ties and 11 lead changes were exchanged as 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.

In addition to Murphy's 10 kills, Da'sha Brown (Gaston, S.C.) finished with a team-best 12 on the night while Denni Johnson (Ashburn, Va.) 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.

LEADING NCCU
Murphy continues to lead NCCU offensively on the season with 113 kills (2.26 k/s) and 16 service aces. She has also collected 88 digs and 14.0 total blocks.

Trailing Murphy offensively, Brown and junior Kelly Rossip (Port Charlotte, Fla.) have collected 99 and 81 kills respectively, while running the offense for the Eagles has been Phillips, who has dished 293 (6.23 a/s) assist on the season.

Defensively, Sherbondy heads NCCU with 116 digs on the season (3.14 d/s), in addition to McCarthy's team-best 41.0 blocks.

Additionally, heading into league action, Johnson currently leads the MEAC in service aces per set with 0.35 (14 total).

SCOUTING THE AGGIES
NCAT (0-16) dropped a 3-0 (25-16, 14, 17) match to Gardner-Webb in a non-conference showdown, Sunday, Sept. 21 in Boiling Springs, N.C.

The Aggies struggled to put things together against the Runnin' Bulldogs as they recorded just 15 kills with senior Jeana Daniels and junior Aleena McDaniel leading the way with five kills each. McDaniel recorded a team-leading 10 digs and sophomore Liz Martino added nine assists.

On the season, junior Brooke Stamnes heads NCAT with 112 kills on the season while junior Te'Borah Hawkins and McDaniel trail with 109 and 104 respectively.

SERIES WITH NCAT
The Eagles and the Aggies have met every season since NCCU's division-I transition in 2007, including prior to the Eagles full membership in the MEAC.  NCCU currently holds a 12-3 advantage over NCAT, with the last meeting between the two in Greensboro, N.C., Oct. 25, 2013 where the Eagles fell 3-0 (25-14, 25-12, 25-21).

UP NEXT
NCCU returns to action on Tuesday, Sept. 30 when the Eagles travel to Greenville, N.C., for a non-conference match-up with the East Carolina Pirates at 7 p.m.