DURHAM, N.C. – A monster match from North Carolina Central University junior
Kelsey Murphy was spoiled by Alabama State University as the Hornets rallied back after losing a dramatic first set to win the non-conference match 3-1 on Thursday evening in the L.T. Walker Complex.
Alabama State (2-5 Overall) fell behind by dropping an extended first set, 33-31, but rattled off win in the next three sets by scores of 25-13, 25-18 and 25-23 to prevent NCCU (0-9) from picking up its first victory.
NCCU HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:Murphy pounded out 22 kills and made 19 digs – both match-high totals – for her second double-double of the season. Her 22 kills is a season-high mark and her 19 digs is a new career-best sum.
Freshman
Sydney Sumner ripped a dozen kills for a second straight match and tallied 11 digs for her first collegiate double-double. Senior
Kelly Rossip continued her strong play by blasting a season-high 14 kills at a .321 clip.
Sophomore setter
Paige Phillips recorded a season-best 43 assists as NCCU hit .163 as a team.
Freshman
Bree Simmons had her most productive match yet with eight digs and an NCCU season-best four service aces.
ASU HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:The Hornets hit a season-high .343 with five players posting double digit kill totals. Senior Myla Marshall paced the group with 13 kills. Senior Rachel Smith added 10 kills and led Alabama State with 10 digs for a double-double.
Freshman Kori Kutsch and freshman Riley MacDonald helped set up the Hornets attack with 23 and 19 assists, respectively.
ASU registered 14 team blocks. Senior Amber Bennett notched three solo blocks and seven block assists to go along with 11 kills for a team-high 17.5 points.
SET-BY-SET:1ST: The opening stanza was a seesaw battle that featured 16 ties and seven lead changes. Alabama State had its largest leads of the set early with a four-point cushion on three occasions but NCCU quickly fought back. The Lady Eagles led by as many as four as well after a freshman
Jazmine Daye kill made the score 16-12. The two teams continued to trade points but NCCU had the best chances late serving for set point five times. A kill by Murphy tied up the frame for the final time at 31-all before Simmons served up an ace to set up the fifth chance that NCCU won on an error by the visitors. Rossip had seven kills in the first set.
2ND: Alabama State had its best set hitting .429 to level the score with the 12-point win. NCCU only trailed by one at 10-9 before the Hornets swarmed away on a 15-4 run.
3RD: The Lady Eagles won the first point on a Sumner kill but it proved to be NCCU's only advantage of the period. Alabama State was clinging to a 19-16 edge late before winning six of the final eight serves to go up 2-1 in the match.
4TH: NCCU remained resilient and constructed a 12-7 lead early that featured five kills off Murphy's arm, including three consecutive at one point. The Lady Eagles remained ahead by two, 16-14, on a Sumner spike but the Hornets won the next four points to leapfrog in front by a pair of points. Alabama State pulled ahead 24-20 at match point but needed all four chances to close out the win. Simmons fourth ace of the match pulled the hosts to within one at 24-23 but the next serve she launched caught the top of the net to end the contest.
OTHER NOTES, STATS & FACTS: Alabama State has won three consecutive matches against NCCU to take a 3-2 series lead (modern era since 2007).
UP NEXT: NCCU will compete in the UMES Fall Fling over the weekend in Princess Anne, Maryland. The Lady Eagles will play the host Hawks of Maryland Eastern Shore on Friday, Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. NCCU completes play in the UMES Fall Fling with two matches on Saturday, Sept. 12 against Manhattan College (10 a.m.) and Loyola University Maryland (4 p.m.). For complete information, fans are encouraged to visit
www.NCCUEaglePride.com.
