DURHAM, N.C. – Sophomore middle blocker Whitney White blasted eight kills for host North Carolina Central University in a 3-0 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) home loss to frontrunner Florida A&M University Friday evening.
 
The Rattlers hit a season-high .486 in winning the showdown of league-unbeaten teams by a score of 25-9, 25-11, 25-17. FAMU (7-11 Overall, 4-0 MEAC) has won five of its last seven matches, including four straight in conference action. NCCU (3-9, 2-1) remained winless at home at 0-4.
 
NCCU HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:
White blasted her eight kills on just 13 attempts with only two errors for a .462 hitting percentage. She added one block assist to lead the Lady Eagles with 8.5 points.
 
Senior Casey Curran contributed four kills while senior Kelsey Murphy and sophomore Jazmine Daye both tallied three spikes. Murphy registered a team-high seven digs and Daye factored in three of NCCU's four blocks (two solo, one assist).
 
Junior setter Paige Phillips supplied 17 assists.
 
FLORIDA A&M HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:
FAMU pounded down 42 kills on 72 swings with just seven errors for its staggering .486 hitting percentage. Junior setter Valeria Lopez orchestrated the hot-hitting Rattler attack with 30 assists.
 
Freshman Maria Yvette Garcia paced a balanced attack with 10 kills. Senior Ginna Lopez-Chavez followed with nine kills and she netted seven blocks (three solo, four assists) for a match-high 14.5 points.
 
Freshman Nicole Abreu led the Rattlers with 11 digs and two aces.
 
SET-BY-SET:
1ST: Florida A&M never trailed in the match and it started with a big first set where the Rattlers hit a smoking .727 by nailing 16 kills on 22 attempts and no errors. Garcia had half of her 10 kills in the opening game.
 
2ND: The Rattlers led wire-to-wire for a second-straight set with the aid of 10 NCCU attacking errors.
 
3RD: The only three ties of the match occurred in the final set, but the Lady Eagles were unable to take the lead on any of the ensuing serves. A kill by Curran (1-1) and solo blocks by Daye (7-7, 11-11) accounted for the trio of ties. After a FAMU timeout at 11-all, the Rattlers won the next three points to slither ahead and eventually win by eight points.
 
OTHER NOTES, STATS & FACTS:
FAMU improved to 12-1 against NCCU since the Lady Eagles started playing at the DI level in 2007.
 
UP NEXT:
NCCU will host MEAC foe Bethune-Cookman University at Charles E. Jordan High School on Sunday at 1 p.m. For more information, fans are encouraged to visit www.NCCUEaglePride.com.