ROCK HILL, S.C. – Senior outside hitter Kelsey Murphy paced visiting North Carolina Central University with six kills and 10 digs in a straight-set loss at Winthrop University Tuesday evening.
 
The Winthrop Eagles (9-12 Overall) snapped four-match losing streak with the 25-15, 25-14, 25-13 non-conference victory. The NCCU Lady Eagles (3-11) have lost three in-a-row.
 
NCCU HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:
Murphy led NCCU in kills for a fourth time in her senior season by ripping a half dozen spikes. Murphy also reached double-figure digs for a third time by scooping the ball up 10 times.
 
Senior Casey Curran and sophomore Whitney White added five kills apiece and sophomore Kierra Shipman chipped in four kills. Junior setter Paige Phillips contributed 16 assists, four digs and two aces. Shipman tacked on seven digs and Curran and White both dug up the ball five times.
 
WINTHROP HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:
Freshman Sammie-Jo Ah-Hong guided Winthrop to the win with a double-double of 16 kills and 11 digs. Senior Emma Weakland blasted 12 kills and classmate Brianna Gray was a third Eagle with double-digit points with seven kills and four blocks. Winthrop hit .340 for the match.
 
Freshman setter Siani Yamaguchi tallied 21 assists and junior Mallory McFadden supplied 16 assists.
 
SET-BY-SET:
1ST: A Murphy kill gave NCCU an early 2-1 lead before Winthrop rushed ahead with a 15-4 run to grab a double-digit advantage at 16-6. The visiting Lady Eagles fought back with an 8-2 rally to pull within four at 18-14. The comeback attempt featured two kills by White, one kill by both Murphy and Curran and an ace by Phillips. Winthrop regrouped out of a timeout and won the next three points and closed out the opener on a 7-1 surge. The Winthrop Eagles hit .324 to win the frame by 10.
 
2ND: Winthrop got even hotter in the middle set, hitting .412 and never trailed. NCCU kept the game close for a while as three consecutive points on a block by Phillips and sophomore Jazmine Daye, a kill by Murphy and an ace by Phillips pulled the Lady Eagles to within one at 10-9. Winthrop still clung to just a two point edge at 13-11 before finishing of the period on a 12-3 outburst. Shipman highlighted play for NCCU with three kills.
 
3RD: After NCCU grabbed a one-point lead on three occasions early, the Winthrop Eagles flew ahead for good with six consecutive points. Winthrop used another stretch of eight straight points and eventually led by as many as 14 in completing the sweep.
 
OTHER NOTES, STATS & FACTS:
Winthrop has won all eight meetings since NCCU joined the NCAA Division I ranks in 2007.
 
UP NEXT:
NCCU next visits Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina, on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 6 p.m. For more information, fans are encouraged to visit www.NCCUEaglePride.com.