COLUMBIA, S.C. –Freshman outside hitter Sydney Sumner ripped 10 kills in her collegiate debut to highlight play for the North Carolina Central University volleyball team in a 3-0 loss to North Carolina State University in the opening match of the 2015 Gamecock Invitational presented by Hyatt Place hosted by the University of South Carolina on Friday afternoon.
 
The Wolfpack (1-0) hit .208 to start the season in the win column while holding the Lady Eagles (0-1) to a negative attack.
 
NCCU HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:
Sumner added six digs, two aces and 2.5 blocks to her 10 spikes for a match-high 14.5 points.
 
Senior Kelly Rossip and Kelsey Murphy followed Sumner with five kills apiece.
 
Junior transfer Casey Curran jumped into the setter position and delivered 18 assists. Freshman Tamika Brekke did the same at the libero position and had 15 digs in her benchmark performance.
 
USC HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:
Sophomore Julia Brown matched Sumner on the opposite side of the net with 10 kills. Five other Wolfpack players had either four of five kills.
 
NCSU tallied eight team kills including five block assists by freshman Blayke Hranicka. Junior setter Maggie Speaks recorded a match-high 20 assists.
 
SET-BY-SET:
1ST: Sumner ripped her first kill on the opening play of the season to give NCCU an early advantage but the Wolfpack quickly used a 12-2 run to pull ahead 13-4 before winning by that same nine-point margin. Sumner had both of her solo blocks in the period and Brekke scooped up nine digs.
 
2ND: The Lady Eagles once again started out quick winning the first two points, including a kill by Murphy. However, NCSU had its best offensive set firing at a .364 clip with 11 kills and just three errors to coast to the 11-point win. Rossip posted three of her five kills in the frame.
 
3RD: NCCU finished strong outscoring NCSU 17-15 at the end of the match but a 10-0 surge by the Wolfpack to start the final set was too much of a deficit to overcome. Sumner and Murphy combined for eight of the Lady Eagles nine kills with five and three, respectively.
 
OTHER NOTES, STATS & FACTS:
NCCU started five newcomers (Sumner, Curran, Brekke, freshman Whitney White and freshman Jazmine Day) and played one other in Sydney Richardson.
 
NCCU is 1-1 against NCSU in the program's NCAA Division I era having defeated the Wolfpack in 2007.
 
UP NEXT:
NCCU will conclude play in the Gamecock Invitational with two games on Saturday, August 29. The Lady Eagles will first play host USC at 1 p.m., followed by Southeastern Louisiana University at 4 p.m.
 
The USC match will be televised by the SEC Network+ and is available online via WatchESPN. Live audio and live stats available for both contests. For more information, please visit the NCCU official athletics website at www.NCCUEaglePride.com.