DURHAM, N.C. – The 2016 edition of North Carolina Central University volleyball will begin its 22-match campaign at the James Madison University Invitational in Harrisonburg, Virginia, on Friday-Saturday, Aug. 26-27.
 
The Lady Eagles will play three matches in about a 24-hour span, beginning with a showdown against the host Dukes on Friday at 12:30 p.m. NCCU will play a second match on the first day, hitting the court against the College of the Holy Cross at 5 p.m. The Lady Eagles conclude play with one match on Saturday against Georgia State University at 11 a.m.
 
JMU will be providing live stats for all three of NCCU's matches and an audio broadcast will be available for just the JMU contest. Fans can follow NCCU volleyball all season by visiting NCCUEaglePride.com and on social media at Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
 
SCHEDULE
 
Friday, August 26 | 12:30 p.m.
NCCU at James Madison
LIVE STATS | AUDIO
 
Friday, August 26 | 5 p.m.
NCCU vs. Holy Cross
LIVE STATS
 
Saturday, August 27 | 11 a.m.
NCCU vs. Georgia State
LIVE STATS
 
N.C. Central Volleyball
 
After winning three matches in 2013, four in 2014 and five in 2015, NCCU will be attempting to make a more significant leap in the win column under the direction of first year head coach Jody Brown and his assistants Emma Celentano, Jonathan Paulk and Kelly Rossip. Brown is a veteran coach who has 227 career wins in 17 seasons at Florida Atlantic University.
 
The Lady Eagles return six letter winners that played in majority of the squads' matches last season, including senior outside hitter Kelsey Murphy, senior setter Casey Curran, junior setter Paige Phillips, sophomore middle blocker Whitney White, sophomore outside hitter Kierra Shipman and sophomore libero Bree Simmons.
 
Murphy is a two-time All-MEAC honoree that has led NCCU in kills each of the past two seasons. Murphy averaged 3.18 spikes per set and added 2.15 digs per set. Curran topped the Lady Eagles with 7.49 assists per set and she contributed 1.58 digs per set. White (1.41 kills/set) and Shipman (1.15 kps) both averaged over one kill per set in their rookie year. White paced NCCU with 0.66 blocks per set. Simmons, who led the Lady Eagles with 0.29 aces per set, will most likely take over the vacated libero position this season. Phillips has contributed an average of 4.13 assists per set in her first two years with the program.
 
Sophomore middle blocker Jazmine Daye and classmate setter/right side Jordan Shipman both have the potential to play more in their second season along with newcomers' senior middle blocker Ashley Johnson, freshman outside hitter Kennedy White and freshman outside hitter Nia Singletary.
 
NCCU will be making the trek to Harrisonburg for a second straight year after playing in the JMU Classic in 2015. The Lady Eagles lost to the Dukes, 3-0, last year in the two programs first meeting. NCCU will be playing Holy Cross for the first time and Georgia State for a second time (lost 3-0 in 2009).
 
James Madison Volleyball
 
The Dukes, who were regular season co-champions in their league after boasting a 22-8 record in 2015, and are picked to finish fourth in the Colonial Athletic Association in 2016.
 
JMU's roster is highlighted by senior right side hitter Janey Goodman, who is the reigning CAA Player of the Year and three-time All-CAA honoree. Goodman tallied 4.33 kills per set and 0.86 blocks per set.
 
Sophomore Bryn Recker (2.15 kills/set), senior Kate Whitmire (1.97 kps) and senior Kelly Robertson (1.37 kps) add depth to a high-powered offense. A veteran Dukes squad also returns its leading blocker in senior Hanna Radhi (1.10 blocks/set) and defender in junior Taylor (4.69 digs/set).
 
JMU will have to compete without its senior all-conference setter from a year ago, but does return its backup setter in sophomore Amy Gottschling and has added a transfer setter in sophomore Tilbe Yaglioglu.
 
Holy Cross Volleyball
 
The Crusaders are coming off a 7-22 season and was voted to finish eighth in the Patriot League.
 
Senior outside hitter Mandy Sifferlen is a two-time All-Patriot performer. Sifferlen led Holy Cross with 3.83 kills per set and 0.33 aces per set. She also supplied 2.52 digs per set.
 
Sophomore Lynsey Oliver had a strong rookie season, ranking second on the team with 2.74 kills per set. The Crusaders also return starting junior libero M.C. Magner, who lifted up 4.22 digs per set, and top blocker in classmate Mary Mullen, who was just shy of one block per set at 0.96.
 
A couple freshmen will be competing for the starting setter position after the Crusaders lost their top two setup artists from last season.
 
Georgia State Volleyball
 
The Panthers posted a 7-19 ledger in 2015 and are a very young squad with 12 of its 15 active players being either freshmen or sophomores. Georgia State was picked to finish last, sixth, in the East Division of the Sun Belt in 2016.
 
Seniors Kristina Stinson (2.87 kills per set) and Eliza Zachary (2.62 kps) where two of the Panthers top-four point producers last season. Zachary also led GSU with 0.88 blocks per set while Stinson served up 0.35 aces per set.
 
Sarah Renner, who took over the primary setter role midway through her freshman season last year, averaged 6.63 assists per set. At the other specialist position the Crusaders have graduated their starting libero from a year ago.