ELON, N.C. – North Carolina Central University rallied from a 2-0 deficit and forced a fifth set against Wake Forest University before falling 3-2 in Friday's opener of the Elon University Phoenix Classic.
Wake Forest (2-2) leveled its record with the 25-15, 25-15, 23-25, 22-25, 15-8 triumph. NCCU (0-5) remained winless on the season.
NICKI HOLMES QUOTES: "I really like our ability to fight back after trailing 2-0. We were kind of lost in the beginning but came out of the intermission, embrace adversity and just worry about the next point."
"
Kelly Rossip put in a lot of good work for us out of the middle. She ended up with 13 kills and has become the leader of a really young team."
"I really liked
Kierra Shipman having to come in in a pinch. She really held her own in one of her first games in Division I against an ACC opponent."
NCCU HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:Junior
Kelsey Murphy spiked a match-high 16 kills. Senior
Kelly Rossip and freshman
Kierra Shipman also reached the double-digit kill plateau with 13 and 11 kills, respectively. The trio all set season-high kill totals as NCCU hit .136 for the match.
Rossip and Shipman also had four blocks apiece.
Junior
Casey Curran returned to the lineup and posted her first double-double for the Lady Eagles with 34 assists and 13 digs.
Freshman
Tamika Brekke led NCCU with 24 digs. Murphy added eight digs and sophomore
Paige Phillips chipped in seven digs.
WAKE FOREST HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:The duo of senior Matalee Reed and sophomore Kylie Long paced the Demon Deacons. Reed matched Murphy with 16 kills and tallied seven block assists. Long logged a double-double of 15 kills and 15 digs.
Freshman Rachel Burau and junior Sophia Dodd coordinated Wake Forest's attack with 31 and 30 assists, correspondingly.
Defensively, sophomore Caroline Wolf paced the Demon Deacons with 19 digs and junior Hanna Lee notched nine block assists.
SET-BY-SET:1ST: Wake Forest won the first two points and quickly built up a 10-4 advantage. The Demon Deacons hit .268 and never trailed before winning the opener by 10. Shipman highlighted play for the Lady Eagles with three kills and two block assists.
2ND: NCCU dropped the middle set by 10 points again but kept the score much closer until the end. The Lady Eagles only trailed 17-13 after two consecutive combined blocks featuring freshman
Sydney Richardson but Wake Forest close the set on an 8-2 run. Rossip paced the Maroon and Gray with four kills in the game. The Demon Deacons continued to hit well at .286 and once again never trailed.
3RD: A pair of spikes by Murphy along with kills by Shipman and junior
Jennifer Allison propelled the Lady Eagles in front by three at 8-5. Wake Forest rallied and the set had 15 ties but NCCU held a slim lead most of the way. The Demon Deacons leveled the score for the final time at 21-all before two more kills by Murphy and a spike by Rossip inched the Lady Eagles to set point. Wake Forest won the next two points before Rossip ripped another kill off the block to extend the match. NCCU's offense posted a .294 hitting percentage with Murphy firing eight kills.
4TH: NCCU kept the momentum and never trailed in the fourth set. A Murphy kill doubled up the Lady Eagles cushion, 10-5, and the Lady Eagles would lead by five on two other occasions including as late as 14-9. Wake Forest pulled to within one, 16-15, with a 6-2 run but a smash by Shipman kept NCCU ahead. Rossip closed out the three-point win to force a decisive fifth set with two more blasts.
5TH: A couple Demon Deacon errors gave NCCU a quick 2-1 lead in the race to 15 points but Wake Forest pulled ahead 8-4 as the two team's switched sides of the court. The Lady Eagles rattled off the next three points – capped by a Shipman kill – to close within one point but a couple attacking errors kept the Demon Deacons ahead. NCCU kept fighting and only trailed by two at 10-8 before Wake Forest closed the match by winning the final five serves.
OTHER NOTES, STATS & FACTS: Allison – a transfer from Louisburg College – made her NCCU debut Friday after recovering from injury. The Lady Eagles have now played all 10 newcomers within the squad's first five matches.
Wake Forrest is a perfect 3-0 against NCCU in the Lady Eagles' NCAA Division I era (since 2007).
UP NEXT: NCCU will continue play in the Elon Phoenix Classic with two matches on Saturday. The Lady Eagles will first play host Elon at 12:30 p.m., followed by Charleston Southern University at 4:30 p.m.
NCCU Sports Network broadcaster Mike Wood will be on air for an audio webcast of both matches that is accessible on the NCCU's official athletics website at
www.NCCUEaglePride.com. Live stats will be provided for each tilt by Elon (each match has a different link) and a live video stream will be available for just the NCCU at Elon match.
