HARRISONBURG, Va. – Senior
Kelly Rossip led the North Carolina Central University volleyball team with seven kills, four digs and four block assists in a 3-0 loss to host James Madison University in the JMU Invitational Saturday morning.
The Dukes (9-3 Overall) prevented the Lady Eagles (1-15) from a second straight win with the 25-15, 25-13, 25-13 win.
NCCU HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:Rossip finished with a team-high nine points. Other top hitters for the Lady Eagles included junior
Kelsey Murphy (5 kills), freshman
Kierra Shipman (4) and freshman
Whitney White (3).
Junior setter
Casey Curran tallied 15 assists and five digs. Sophomore
Paige Phillips paced NCCU's defense with eight digs.
JMU HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:Junior Janey Goodman paced the Dukes attack with a match-high 10 kills. Senior Meghan Niski chipped in eight kills and nine digs. Senior setter Sarah Patterson guided the offense with 24 assists.
James Madison held NCCU to a negative hitting percentage, thanks in part to 11 team blocks. Freshman Taylor Gail highlighted the Dukes front row fence with six block assists.
SET-BY-SET:1ST: NCCU was matching James Madison early. A pair of kills by Shipman deadlocked the score at 2-2 and 3-3. Curran crushed her own kill to tie the score for the fourth and final time at 6-6 but the Dukes recorded the next four points to pull ahead for good and won by 10. Shipman and Murphy each had three kills for the Lady Eagles.
2ND: Kills by Rossip and White helped NCCU jump out to a 3-1 edge in the middle period but JMU quickly took control, including a 7-0 run on Goodman's service rotation to pull ahead by 10 at 16-6. Niski helped the Dukes close out the 12-point triumph to take the 2-nil set advantage with five kills on eight swings.
3RD: James Madison left little chance of the Lady Eagles extending the match by rolling out to a 10-nil cushion to start the final frame. The two programs traded points from that point before the Dukes once again won by a dozen points.
OTHER NOTES, STATS & FACTS: Saturday mornings match marked the first meeting between the Lady Eagles and James Madison in NCCU's division I era (since 2007).
Curran was named to the JMU Invitational All-Tournament Team, her second all-tournament selection this season (USC Gamecock Invite).
UP NEXT: NCCU will begin MEAC southern divisional play next week when the Lady Eagles host archrival North Carolina A&T State on Friday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. For complete information, fans are encouraged to visit
www.NCCUEaglePride.com.
