DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University volleyball team will be looking to improve its playoff seeding in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament with a pair of road games in the Sunshine State over the weekend.
 
The Lady Eagles will visit Southern Division frontrunner Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida, on Friday at 7 p.m. and Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
NCCU will be providing an audio webcast of both matches with NCCU Sports Network broadcaster Mike Wood on the air with the play-by-play. Fans can follow NCCU volleyball all season by visiting NCCUEaglePride.com and on social media at Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
 
MATCH INFO
 
Friday, November 4 | 7 p.m.
NCCU at Florida A&M
AUDIO
 
Sunday, November 6 | 1 p.m.
NCCU at Bethune-Cookman
AUDIO | LIVE STATS
 
N.C. Central Volleyball
 
The Lady Eagles have won their last two MEAC matches to move over .500 in the conference and secure a spot in the league's tourney at the end of the season. NCCU (5-14 Overall, 3-2 MEAC) is coming off a 3-0 road loss to Elon in its last non-conference match on Tuesday.
 
The maroon and gray has three players averaging over two kills per set in senior Casey Curran (2.42), Kelsey Murphy (2.16) and Whitney White (2.16).  The trio has been even more productive in league play with White averaging 3.00 kills per set and Murphy (2.76) and Curran (2.72) also averaging more kills in conference skirmishes.
 
Junior setter Paige Phillips is averaging 7.37 assists per set and sophomore libero Bree Simmons continues to lead the Lady Eagles with 3.23 digs and 0.27 aces per set.
 
Other top contributors for NCCU include sophomore Jazmine Daye, who boasts a team-best 0.75 blocks per set, and freshman Kennedy White, who tallied a season-high five kills against Elon on Tuesday.
 
NCCU lost to both Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman in straight sets last month. White had eight kills in the loss to the Rattlers and Curran smashed nine kills in the loss to the Wildcats. In the Lady Eagles modern era since 2007, NCCU is 1-12 against FAMU and 6-11 against BCU.
 
Florida A&M Volleyball
 
The Rattlers, who are riding a 10-match win streak, are looking to close out an undefeated league regular season this weekend. Florida A&M (13-11 Overall, 8-0 MEAC) can clinch at least a share of the Southern Division regular season title with a win against the Lady Eagles on Friday.
 
FAMU leads the division with a .218 hitting percentage, 12.35 kills per set and 1.87 aces per set.
 
A pair of freshman outside hitters have taken over the Rattlers attack as Maria Yvette Garcia (3.39 kills/set) and Nicole Abreu (3.30 kills/set) are fourth and fifth in the MEAC, respectively, with over three kills per set.
 
Florida A&M has a total of six freshman and two other rookies are also making an impact early in their careers. Outside hitter Radka Dimitrova is supplying 1.17 kills, 1.68 digs and 0.37 aces per set. Elena Dimitrova has served as a secondary setter for the Rattlers and is tallying 7.74 assists per set.
 
Sophomore libero Valentina Carrasco is third in the MEAC with 4.15 digs per set and junior setter Valeria Lopez tops FAMU with 8.82 assists per set. Senior middle blocker Dei'Ja Martin is an All-MEAC selection that is chipping in 1.47 kills per set. Senior classmate Ginna Chavez-Lopez adds 1.97 kills per set, a team-high 0.89 blocks per set and a league-best .360 hitting percentage. Sophomore Nair Canessa is second in the MEAC with 0.43 aces per set.
 
FAMU hit .486 in its 25-9, 25-11, 25-17 win against NCCU on Oct. 7. Garcia had a match-high 10 kills and Lopez-Chavez tallied 14 points with nine kills and seven blocks (three solo, four assists).
 
Bethune-Cookman Volleyball
 
The defending Southern Division champion Wildcats have lost their last two matches, including a 3-1 setback to Florida A&M last Sunday. Bethune-Cookman (7-20 Overall, 5-3 MEAC) will host North Carolina A&T on Friday before hosting NCCU on its 'Senior Day' Sunday at Warner Christian Academy.
 
The Wildcats return two All-MEAC middle blockers and Bethune-Cookman are one of the MEAC's best blocking team, averaging 1.74 blocks per set. Senior Phylecia Armstrong is second in the league with 0.95 blocks per set, while averaging 2.03 kills per set with a .326 hitting percentage. Junior Rakaya Neely contributes 1.91 kills and 0.64 blocks per set. Neely's .329 hitting percentage is second in the conference.
 
Freshman Alana Handy has taken over the Wildcats top attack position with 3.30 kills per set, ranking sixth in the MEAC.
 
In the specialty roles, senior libero Normarie Rolon Soto leads B-CU with 3.37 digs per set while junior Phalen Clark (6.76 assists/set) and sophomore J'nai Higgins (5.38) are splitting the setting duties pretty evenly.
 
BCU knocked off NCCU by a 25-17, 25-14, 25-20 margin on Oct. 9. Handy had a big match with 18 kills.