DURHAM, N.C. – Junior transfer Jennifer Allison had her most productive match of the season for host North Carolina Central University in a 3-0 non-conference loss to Winthrop University on Tuesday evening in the L.T. Walker Complex.
 
Winthrop (4-7 Overall) won the battle of the Eagles by set scores of 25-20, 25-18 and 25-21 to extend its win streak to four matches. NCCU (0-13) remained winless on the year.
 
NCCU HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:
Allison provided three kills on six attempts for a .500 hitting percentage over the final two sets to go along with one dig, one assist and one solo block.
 
Junior outside hitter Kelsey Murphy continued her strong play for the Lady Eagles with a team-high 10 kills. Murphy has led the Maroon and Gray in kills in 11 of 13 matches.
 
Junior Casey Curran totaled 27 assists and had both of NCCU's service aces. Senior Kelly Rossip and freshman Sydney Sumner each provided five kills. Senior Marilyn Sherbondy added 13 digs.
 
WINTHROP HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:
Junior Annelies Dokter tallied a match-high 11 kills to pace the Winthrop Eagles attack. Senior Hjordis Eiriksdottir and sophomore Nikki Drost chipped in eight and six spikes, respectively.
 
Freshman Madilyn McCarty had a quality performance from the setter position with 22 assists, four block assists and three kills on five swings. Drost and freshman Carlie Skelton totaled 12 digs apiece.
 
SET-BY-SET:
1ST: The opening stanza was the only set the host Lady Eagles held a lead. NCCU held a narrow advantage for most of the first half of the set after jumping out 3-0 on consecutive kills by Murphy. NCCU continued to lead by two, 10-8, on a Sumner smash and then held its last lead at 13-12 after Winthrop was called for a ball handling error. The Winthrop Eagles flew ahead 18-13 by winning the next six points before winning by that same five-point margin. Murphy had half of her 10 kills in the first frame.
 
2ND: Winthrop led the middle set from the onset and quickly constructed an 8-3 cushion. NCCU rallied within two at 13-11 after a pair of kills by Allison and still only trailed by three at 17-14 before Winthrop closed out the set on an 8-4 surge. Dokter paced the visitors to the 2-nil advantage with five kills on eight attempts in the set.
 
3RD: The Winthrop Eagles once again jumped out 12-7 but NCCU fought back with a 5-0 rally to knot the period for the only time at 12-all. Curran registered two of the Lady Eagles points in the run with her two aces. Winthrop called a timeout and those Eagles came out of the brief break on fire winning eight of the next 10 serves to take control at 20-14. A kill by McCarty ended the match in favor of Winthrop.
 
OTHER NOTES, STATS & FACTS:
Winthrop remained undefeated against NCCU since the hosts started competing at the NCAA Division I level in 2007.
 
Murphy moved over the 600 career kill mark at 609 with her 10-kill performance on Tuesday. She now ranks second in NCCU's modern era record book for career kills (trailing 831 career kills by Belinda Behncke-Biney).
 
UP NEXT:
NCCU plays its fourth consecutive weekend tournament when the Lady Eagles compete in the James Madison University Invitational on Sept. 18-19. NCCU will play Georgetown University (1 PM) and Norfolk State University (5 PM) on Friday and the host Dukes (10 AM) on Saturday. For complete information, fans are encouraged to visit www.NCCUEaglePride.com.