DURHAM, N.C. – Freshman Bree Simmons served up three of North Carolina Central University's 10 aces in a 3-0 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) win over Southern Division rival Savannah State University on Sunday afternoon in the L.T. Walker Complex.
 
The Lady Eagles (3-16 Overall, 2-1) moved back over .500 in the MEAC with the 25-21, 25-21, 27-25 triumph. Despite playing all three sets closely, the Lady Tigers (0-21, 0-4) have yet to win a set this season.
 
NCCU HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:
Simmons scorched her three aces late in sets two and three to help NCCU stay ahead of Savannah State. Junior Kelsey Murphy and freshman Tamika Brekke added a pair of aces each as the Lady Eagles tallied 10 total aces, which made the squads season-high mark that was first set in a five-set match against Loyola University.
 
Murphy continued her outstanding campaign with a 15-point performance that featured 12 kills, two aces and a solo block to end the first set.
 
Senior Kelly Rossip blasted seven kills with only two errors on 19 attempts for a team-best .263 hitting percentage. She was one of three NCCU players with seven digs, joining Brekke and junior Casey Curran.
 
Curran set up the Lady Eagles attack with a match-high 28 assists as the Maroon and Gray finished with a .149 hitting percentage.
 
Freshman Kierra Shipman chipped in six kills and Rossip registered two block assists.
 
SSU HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:
Junior Gabrielle Nathaniel paced the Lady Tigers with 10 points, comprised of eight kills and four block assists. Junior Caitlynn Masoe notched 23 assists and classmate Alexis Washington logged 13 digs.
 
SET-BY-SET:
1ST: The opener was a seesaw affair with 20 ties and eight lead changes. The two teams were deadlocked at 21-all when NCCU won the next four points to take the set. White and Murphy helped the Lady Eagles get to set point with a kill apiece and then Murphy came up with her solo block for the 25th point. NCCU ripped 13 kills with a .286 hitting percentage.
 
2ND: Savannah State led as late as 16-15 before NCCU doubled up the visitors, 10-5, down the stretch to win by four again. A pair of aces by Simmons ignited the outburst and Rossip closed out the set with a spike.
 
3RD: NCCU looked to be in more control of the final set with sizable leads of 12-7 and 24-20 but the Lady Tigers clawed back both times. Savannah State rallied to level the scoreboard at 16-all the first time but an 8-4 response by the Lady Eagles gave NCCU a four-point cushion at match-point. A kill by Nathaniel and three ensuing NCCU errors erased the deficit and evened the score again at 24-24. A block by Rossip and Richardson temporarily put the hosts back in front but Nathaniel's eight kill knotted the score one final time. Murphy pounded down her 12th kill to set up NCCU's sixth match-point chance and the Lady Eagles finally converted on it with a quick-fire kill by freshman Whitney White.
 
OTHER NOTES, STATS & FACTS:
NCCU extended its series dominance over Savannah State to 10-1 in the Lady Eagles modern era.
 
UP NEXT:
NCCU will complete the first half of its MEAC Southern Division play with a road trip to Florida to play Florida A&M University (Friday, Oct. 9 at 7 PM) and Bethune-Cookman University (Sunday, Oct. 11 at 12 PM) next weekend. For more information, fans are encouraged to visit www.NCCUEaglePride.com.