ELON, N.C. – Junior outside hitter
Kelsey Murphy recorded her first double-double of the season to highlight play for the North Carolina Central University volleyball team in a 3-0 loss to Charleston Southern University in the Elon University Phoenix Classic Saturday afternoon.
The Buccaneers (3-4 overall) used 15 blocks in sweeping the Lady Eagles (0-7) by set scores of 25-21, 25-21 and 25-14.
NCCU HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:Murphy completed her double-double by pounding down a team-high 12 kills and making a season-best 12 digs.
Freshman
Kierra Shipman ripped 11 spikes, which was her second 11-kill performance of the tournament (Wake Forest). Senior
Kelly Rossip (6 kills) and freshman
Whitney White (4 kills) chipped in on the Lady Eagles offense with 10 combined kills.
Junior
Casey Curran provided a match-high 21 assists in just two sets with sophomore
Paige Phillips adding 11 assists over the final two frames.
Freshman libero
Tamika Brekke showcased 17 digs and sophomore
Lauryn Martin matched Murphy with 12 digs.
CSU HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:The Buccaneers got nine blocks (one solo, eight assists) from junior Connor Malone as CSU's front row defense denied NCCU's attack 15 times. Senior Meredith Parrott and sophomore Kylie Klein each posted seven blocks (one solo, six assists).
Parrott topped Charleston Southern with 13 kills on 23 swings with just two errors for a .478 hitting percentage. CSU hit .175 for the match with senior Cassidy Greer supplying 20 assists. Senior Ashley Higginbothem contributed 14 digs and junior Taylor Allman added 12 digs.
SET-BY-SET:1ST: The Lady Eagles led during the early stages of the match winning the first two points and they were still leading by two at 6-4 after a kill by Shipman. CSU pushed ahead for good at 9-8 but the set remained close. NCCU only trailed by two, 22-20, late but a pair of service errors and a reception error by NCCU helped the Bucs close out the four-point win. Shipman and Murphy each ripped five kills for the Lady Eagles.
2ND: Charleston Southern grabbed a commanding 2-0 set advantage with a wire-to-wire win in the second. The Buccaneers won the first four points and held on to win by that same margin. A pair of kills off the arms of Murphy and White, respectively, pulled NCCU to within one point a couple time late at 18-17 and 19-18. However, CSU closed the period on a 6-3 run.
3RD: The Bucs never trailed in the third set as well despite NCCU tying it up early at 3-all. CSU only led by two at 10-8 when the Buccaneers went on a decisive 8-1 surge to double up the Lady Eagles at 18-9. Charleston Southern made six of its blocks in the third to close out the sweep with an 11-point win.
OTHER NOTES, STATS & FACTS: Murphy has six career double-doubles.
CSU is 7-1 against the Lady Eagles since NCCU started playing at the Division I level and has won seven consecutive meetings.
NCCU was without a block or an ace.
UP NEXT: NCCU next travels to Boiling Springs, N.C., for a non-conference clash at Gardner-Webb University on Tuesday at 7 p.m. For complete information, fans are encouraged to visit
www.NCCUEaglePride.com.
