PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – Junior Kelsey Murphy hammered a career-high 27 kills for North Carolina Central University, but Loyola University (Md.) rallied from a five-point deficit in the fifth set to win a narrow 3-2 seesaw battle in the UMES Fall Fling Saturday afternoon.
 
The Greyhounds (5-6 Overall) trailed by five points, 11-6, in the fifth set before going on a 9-1 closing run to clip the winless Lady Eagles (0-12) by a score of 24-26, 25-21, 25-19, 21-25, 15-12.
 
QUOTES BY NCCU HEAD COACH NICKI HOLMES
"I think we did a lot of good things, especially with the process and being mentally tough. It was a good opportunity for us to find some mental toughness and kind of push back when adversity would hit us. I am really pleased with the performance not the outcome. We are still trekking along and feel really comfortable with our progress to date."
 
"Kelsey [Murphy] is obviously a key cog to our offense and defense. It was really good to see her embrace adversity. She has been struggling a little bit with the service line and I know she did well there. The 27 kills does not surprise me in the end. Teams try to double block her so to do what she is doing is pretty amazing and talks to her testament of will power."
 
"I think Casey [Curran] did a wonderful job running the offense but also showed her tenacity and defense as well. It was good to see her progress through running an offense and all of its stages. I look forward to seeing what the growth will be in the future for her."
 
NCCU HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:
Murphy was one kill shy of the Lady Eagles NCAA Division I record for individual kills in a match set (28 kills by Emanuelle Santos vs. Bethune-Cookman on Nov. 4, 2011). Murphy's 27 kills set a new career-high for the MEAC All-Conference performer by four over her former best total of 23 kills.
 
Junior setter Casey Curran posted a season- and match-high 48 assists, not only going to Murphy but to all of NCCU's attackers. Freshman Sydney Sumner set a new milestone with 14 kills and senior Kelly Rossip continued her steady play with 11 spikes and a team-high four block assists.
 
Sumner notched her second double-double with 12 digs. She was one of five Lady Eagles with at least nine digs on the night. Senior Marilyn Sherbondy led NCCU's passers with 15 digs and freshman Tamika Brekke added 11 digs. Curran and Murphy both just missed recording double-doubles with nine digs apiece.
 
LOYOLA HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:
The Greyhounds served up 11 aces including three in their decisive 9-1 run to end the match. Sophomore Stacey Kazalas launched her match-high fourth ace on match point to cap a strong performance that included 13 digs, eight kills and four blocks.
 
Sophomore Cichosz and freshman Haley Puddy led Loyola's attack with 10 and nine kills, respectively.
 
Sophomore Corri Waters chipped in seven kills and eight block assists. Classmate Molly Werts tallied 34 assists and junior Micah Duzey contributed 23 digs.
 
SET-BY-SET:
1ST: NCCU captured a tight opening set that featured 10 ties. The two squads played within two points of each other until a block by Curran and Rossip broke a 24-24 tie to provide the Lady Eagles with a second chance at set point. Freshman Bree Simmons followed with an ace to quickly end the frame in favor of the Maroon and Gray.
 
2ND: Loyola had its best attacking set to level the score at 1-1. The Greyhounds had 13 kills and only two errors on 27 attempts for a .407 hitting percentage. The Loyola lead grew to as many as 10 at 21-11 before the Lady Eagles used an 8-1 run to pull within three at 22-19. Murphy closed out the rally with two consecutive aces but the Greyhounds won three of the next five points to finish off the four-point win.
 
3RD: NCCU trailed from the onset losing the first two points and quickly falling behind by five (7-2). A couple quick kills by Sumner and Rossip pulled the Lady Eagles to within one, 16-15, but Loyola won the next three points to start a 9-4 closing run and take the lead in the match.
 
4TH: The momentum quickly changed hands as NCCU never trailed in the fourth. After four early ties, two consecutive kills by Sumner put the Lady Eagles in front for good at 9-7. Loyola still only trailed by two at 18-16, but NCCU took control using a pair of Murphy kills around another Simmons ace and then a Curran dump-over kill to lead by six. Murphy later deadlocked the match at 2-2 with her staggering eighth kill of the game on set point.
 
5TH: The Lady Eagles soared out to an 11-6 advantage with 10 of those 11 points coming on kills. Murphy and Sumner each had four kills and Rossip and White both chipped in one spike during the NCCU flurry. Loyola called a timeout trailing by five and came out of the brief break on fire rattling off six straight points to catapult in front 12-11. A blocking error by the Greyhounds temporarily leveled the score at 12-all but Kazalas put Loyola back in front with kill. After an NCCU error, Kazalas ended the marathon match with her fourth ace.
 
OTHER NOTES, STATS & FACTS:
NCCU served up a season-high 10 aces including three off the arms of both Murphy and Brekke.
 
Loyola and NCCU were playing against each other for the first time.
 
UP NEXT:
NCCU returns home for a non-conference clash against Winthrop University on Tuesday evening. For complete information, fans are encouraged to visit www.NCCUEaglePride.com.