COLUMBIA, S.C. – The North Carolina Central University volleyball team had its best offensive match of the 2015 Gamecock Invitational presented by Hyatt Place, but Southeastern Louisiana University prevailed in straight sets Saturday afternoon at the University of South Carolina Volleyball Center.
 
The Lady Lions had to rally from a five-point deficit to the Lady Eagles in both the second and third sets to complete the 25-21, 25-21, 25-15 sweep.
 
NCCU HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:
Junior outside hitter Kelsey Murphy had her best performance of the event missing a double-double by one dig. Murphy smashed 12 kills and made nine digs.
 
Freshman Tamika Brekke contributed a match-high 14 digs. Brekke made at least 10 digs in all three contests at the Gamecock Invite.
 
Senior Kelly Rossip continued her steady play with five kills and three block assists. Freshman Sydney Sumner chipped in seven kills and five digs while junior Casey Curran logged 16 assists.
 
SLU HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:
Junior Landry Bullock paced the Lady Lions attack with a match-high 16 kills. SLU hit slightly better than NCCU with a .236 mark. Senior Mikayla Shippy orchestrating the offense with 36 assists.
 
Southeastern Louisiana served up 13 aces including four apiece off the arms of senior Tiffany Thomas and junior Madi Odom.
 
SET-BY-SET:
1ST: SLU scored the first two points of the match and never relinquished the lead in the first set. NCCU kept the game close and only trailed by two, 20-18, after a block by Rossip and freshman Whitney White. The Lady Lions scored the next three points before holding on by four.
 
2ND: The Lady Eagles flew out to a 6-1 advantage capped by a freshman Bree Simmons service ace. NCCU stayed in front for the first half of the middle frame leading 15-12 before SLU went on a 5-0 run to catapult ahead at 17-15. The Lady Eagles scored the next two points to even the score for the final time but the Lady lions outscored NCCU 8-4 down the stretch to win by four again.
 
3RD: The Maroon and Gray once again started off hot winning the first four points. NCCU continued to lead 8-3 with the early surge featuring kills by Murphy and White. SLU netted the next five points before another kill by Murphy gave the Lady Eagles their final lead at 9-8. The Lady Lions roared ahead on an ensuing 10-2 run highlighted by three consecutive aces by Odom. SLU maintained the momentum to close out the match with the 10-point triumph.
 
OTHER NOTES, STATS & FACTS:
NCCU hit .226 with 27 kills and only eight errors on 84 total swings. The eight hitting mistakes were the fewest for the program under the leadership of second year head coach Nicki Holmes.
 
Curran, who averaged 6.11 assists per set and 1.67 digs per sets in the Lady Eagles first three matches, was named to the All-Gamecock Invitational Team.
 
Saturday's match was the first meeting between the NCCU and SLU volleyball programs.
 
UP NEXT:
NCCU will make its home debut against the Pirates of East Carolina University on Tuesday, September 1. The match will be played at 7 p.m. in the Walker Complex on NCCU's campus.  The first 50 fans will get a $17 discount voucher to the NCCU home football game against Saint Augustine's University.
 
Fans that cannot make it to the match can follow the game online with live audio on the NCCU Sports Network. Links to the broadcast as well as live stats are both available on www.NCCUEaglePride.com.