Box Score WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University volleyball team dropped a pair of matches during the first day of competition at the 2014 Wake Forest Deacon Invitational in Winston-Salem, N.C. The Eagles fell to Presbyterian 3-0 (25-19, 25-14, 25-17) during a 1 p.m. match-up, before being shut out by the host Demon Deacons 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-13) at 3 p.m., in Reynolds Gymnasium.

Sophomore Kelsey Murphy (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) led the day for NCCU, collecting 12 kills and adding 12 digs during the two-game slate.

During the opening match of the Deacon Invite, against the Blue Hose, the Eagles jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in the first set. PC answered with a 15-7 run, followed by a NCCU timeout as they trailed 16-11. The Blue Hose claimed the first set victory, 25-19.

The Eagles never led in the second set, falling 2-0 in the match after a 25-14 shortage.

Scoring the first three points of the third set, NCCU committed four-straight errors before calling a timeout as the Eagles trailed PC 4-3.

Senior Ashley McCarthy's (Elmont, N.Y.) kill out of the timeout knotted the score at four.

The lead swapped back-and-forth, before the Blue Hose pulled away after the 10-10 mark, earning the 25-17 set victory and winning the match, 3-0.

McCarthy led the Eagles offensively in the first match collecting six kills while she also deflected a team-best three blocks. Senior Alice Genna (Rome, Italy) directed the offense against PC earning 18 assists while redshirt junior Melissa Rabell Pineiro (Canovanas, Puerto Rico) dug a team-high 10 PC attacks.

Immediately following the first match, the Eagles took on the tournament host, Wake Forest.

The Eagles scored the first two points, before the two squads battled for the lead, tying the set at six.

Wake Forest gave themselves a five-point cushion after a 7-2 run put them on top of NCCU 13-8, but the Eagles stayed alive battling back within one at 14-13, before the Deacs pulled ahead with the 25-16 first set victory.

In the second set, NCCU led early on until Wake Forest knotted the score at nine. With tempo in favor of the Deacs, Wake Forest pulled ahead by as many as seven, leading 24-17 at set point.

The Eagles four-straight points brought the set back within three, before a Deac kill secured the second set, 25-21 victory.

It was all Wake Forest in the third set as the Demon Deacons led the entire set before capturing the 12-point, 25-13 win.

Freshman setter Paige Phillips (Birmingham, Ala.) was two digs shy from her first collegiate double-double as the rookie finished with 18 assists and eight digs.

Murphy led the second match on the offensive end with seven kills, while redshirt junior Denni Johnson (Ashburn, Va.) collected a season-best four blocks.

NCCU returns to action Saturday, Sept. 6, as they complete day-two of competition in the Deacon Invitational. The Eagles face Davidson at 11 a.m., followed by Wofford at 3 p.m., in Reynolds Gym.