DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University volleyball team will look to complete regular-season series sweeps of a pair of Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Southern Division rivals this weekend when the Lady Eagles entertain South Carolina State University on Friday at 7 p.m. and Savannah State University on Sunday at 1 p.m.
NCCU will be providing a pay-per-view video broadcast and a free audio webcast of both matches with NCCU Sports Network broadcaster Mike Wood on the air with the play-by-play. Live stats will also be available for both contests. Fans can follow NCCU volleyball all season by visiting
NCCUEaglePride.com and on social media at
Facebook,
Twitter and
Instagram.
PROMOTIONS
FRIDAY: "Battle of the Carolinas" – Cheer on the Lady Eagles against their neighboring rivals.
SUNDAY: "Senior Day" – NCCU's three seniors will be honored prior to first serve so come out early.
MATCH INFO
Friday, October 28 | 7 p.m.
South Carolina State at NCCU
VIDEO |
AUDIO |
LIVE STATS
Sunday, October 30 | 1 p.m.
Savannah State at NCCU
VIDEO |
AUDIO |
LIVE STATS
N.C. Central Volleyball
The Lady Eagles have lost five consecutive matches since knocking off South Carolina State and Savannah State on the weekend of Sept. 30-Oct. 2. NCCU (3-13 Overall, 2-3 MEAC) is currently in fourth place in the Southern Division and a pair of wins this weekend would clinch a playoff berth for the Lady Eagles into the MEAC Tournament.
NCCU is anchored by a pair of senior hitters in
Casey Curran and
Kelsey Murphy. They will be honored prior to Sunday's match along with senior middle blocker
Ashley Johnson.
Curran paces the Lady Eagles with 2.48 kills per set and Murphy follows her with 1.94 spikes per game.
The sophomore middle blocker tandem of
Whitney White (1.81 kills, 0.65) and
Jazmine Daye (1.18 kills, 0.70) also average over one point per set.
Junior setter
Paige Phillips enters the week ranked seventh in the MEAC with 6.85 assists per set. Sophomore libero
Bree Simmons is ninth in the league with 3.40 digs per set and she also paces the Lady Eagles with 0.25 aces per set.
NCCU edged South Carolina State 3-1 on Sept. 30 to level its DI era mark against the Lady Bulldogs at 9-9. Curran and White led the Lady Eagles to the victory with 14 and 11 kills, respectively.
The maroon and gray swept Savannah State 3-0 on Oct. 2 to move to 12-1 against the Lady Tigers since 2007. NCCU had 14 blocks in the match with Daye leading the Lady Eagles front-row defense with seven blocks.
Paige Phillips chipped in a double-double with 23 assists and 13 digs.
South Carolina State Volleyball
The Lady Bulldogs are winless on the season and are coming off home losses to Florida A&M University and Bethune-Cookman University last weekend. South Carolina State (0-22 Overall, 0-7 MEAC) needs to wins its last three league matches to have any chance of making the conference tournament.
Sophomore Brianna Dafney has been SCSU's top player averaging 3.59 points per set. Dafney is eighth in the MEAC with 3.03 kills per set and she leads the Lady Bulldogs with 0.50 blocks and 0.30 aces per set.
Junior libero Tyler Ockleberry made her season debut against NCCU last month and she has taken over the team lead in digs per set (2.43).
Dafney tallied a match-high 20 kills in SCSU's home loss to NCCU this season and junior Marcella Chestnut added 11 kills.
Savannah State Volleyball
The Lady Tigers snapped a 54-match losing streak with a 3-1 win over South Carolina State on Oct. 17, but has since lost their last three matches. Savannah State (1-23 Overall, 1-6 MEAC) will play at North Carolina A&T State University on Friday before visiting Durham on Sunday.
Senior setter Caitlynn Masoe and freshman middle blocker Dominique Ingram highlight the Lady Tigers' attack with over two points per sets. Masoe averages a team-best 2.03 kills per set and ranks sixth in the MEAC with 0.38 aces per set. Ingram provides 1.86 kills per set and is seventh in the league with 0.73 blocks per set.
Senior libero Alexis Washington anchors Savannah State's defense with 3.44 digs per set (eighth in the MEAC).
Masoe filled up the box score in SSU's home loss to NCCU four weeks ago with eight kills, nine assists and seven digs. Senior Gabrielle Nathaniel totaled seven kills; Washington supplied 16 digs; and junior setter Alee Quint just missed a double-double with 17 assists and nine digs.
