DURHAM, N.C. – Both North Carolina Central University seniors had season-high performances on their Senior Day as middle blocker
Kelly Rossip blasted a match-high 17 kills and libero
Marilyn Sherbondy made a match-high 22 digs in a 3-1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) home lost to Bethune-Cookman University Sunday afternoon in McDougald-McLendon Arena.
The Wildcats concluded a perfect MEAC regular season by rallying for the 19-25, 25-19, 25-14, 25-16 win. Bethune-Cookman (13-15 Overall, 10-0 MEAC) will enter the MEAC Tournament as the top seed from the Southern Division. The loss ended the Lady Eagles chances of making the conference tourney after South Carolina State defeated Savannah State earlier in the day. NCCU (2-23, 4-6) tied for fourth place in the final standings with the Lady Bulldogs but SCSU will advance as the no. 4 seed with the 2-0 head-to-head tiebreaker over the Lady Eagles.
NCCU HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:Rossip ripped her 17 kills at a precise clip, posting a .263 hitting percentage on 38 attempts. Rossip also had one aces and four block assists for 20 points.
Freshman
Whitney White continued her strong play down the stretch with 10 kills and was followed by junior
Kelsey Murphy (9 kills), junior
Casey Curran (7) and freshman
Sydney Sumner (4).
Sherbondy had nearly half of the Lady Eagles 51 digs with her 22 successful passes. Sherbondy surpassed the 500 digs plateau on her senior day and had 505 in her career with one match left. Sumner also reached double digits with 11 digs.
Murphy had two of NCCU's three aces. Curran recorded 26 assists and sophomore
Paige Phillips added 16 assists as the Lady Eagles hit .117 for the match.
B-CU HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:The Wildcats attacked with a .258 hitting percentage and got double figure kills from Rhea Simon (13 kills) and Jill Arlaud (11).
Setter Hazel Ortiz-Rosado tallied a double-double with 38 assists and 13 digs, while also contributing six kills and two block assists.
Bethune-Cookman was strong defensively with Normarie Rolon leading the back row with 17 digs and Rakaya Neely pacing the front row with eight blocks (three solo, five assists).
SET-BY-SET:1ST: NCCU jumped out 4-0, saw the Wildcats rally to tie the score at 5-all, but then respond with the next two points to regain the lead. The Lady Eagles stayed ahead and never trailed in the set. Bethune-Cookman kept the score close and only trailed 17-15 before NCCU closed the frame on an 8-4 surge that featured two kills by Murphy before she closed out the set with an ace.
2ND: The Lady Eagles crushed 14 kills for a second straight set but the Wildcats offense also heated up with 16 spikes. NCCU only trailed by two at the midway point, 16-14, before Bethune-Cookman leveled the match with a 9-5 flurry to close out the frame. Rossip had six of her kills in the period.
3RD: The Wildcats hit .419 in the third to jump ahead. A late 7-0 run on Phylecia Armstrong's service rotation set up game point. NCCU won the next two points before a kill by Arlaud finished off the B-CU win.
4TH: The final set saw the only four lead changes in the match. A White kill gave NCCU its last lead at 11-10 but Bethune-Cookman won the next point to deadlock the score for the seventh and final time, which started a 4-0 run to jump the visitors ahead for good. A Curran kill pulled the Lady Eagles within one at 16-15 but the Wildcats raced away with a finishing 9-1 run. Sherbondy was instrumental in keeping the final set close with eight digs in the frame.
OTHER NOTES, STATS & FACTS: Bethune-Cookman has swept NCCU for a second straight season and holds a 10-6 series advantage over the Lady Eagles (modern era since 2007).
UP NEXT: NCCU will conclude its 2015 season with a non-conference road match at Winthrop University on Tuesday at 6 p.m. For more information, fans are encouraged to visit
www.NCCUEaglePride.com.
