HARRISONBURG, Va. – The North Carolina Central University volleyball team produced overall better numbers in its second match on the first day of the season, but did suffer another straight-set loss on Friday in a 3-0 setback to College of the Holy Cross in the James Madison University Invitational Friday afternoon.
 
The Crusaders (1-1) had to rally from sizable deficits in the first two sets and then had to hold off the Lady Eagles (0-2) in the third set to win by a score of 25-20, 25-18 and 25-20.
 
NCCU HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:
Senior Casey Curran flirted with a double-double, tallying nine kills and eight digs. Her nine spikes is a new NCCU career-high for the two-year transfer. Classmate Kelsey Murphy followed with seven kills and sophomore Kierra Shipman chipped in six kills. In her collegiate debut, freshman Nia Singletary supplied four kills in two sets.
 
Sophomore Bree Simmons totaled a match-high 21 digs, a career best total. Junior Paige Phillips was one dig shy of her own double-double with 24 assists and nine digs. Sophomore Jordan Shipman also contributed five assists as the Lady Eagles hit .119 for the match. Freshman Kennedy White was part of both NCCU blocks.
 
HOLY CROSS HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:
Senior Mandy Sifferlen had a big match for the triumphant Crusaders with 17 kills and a .229 hitting percentage. The sophomore duo of Lynsey Petersen and Kristen Somerville both fired over 40-percent with seven kills apiece while both boasting four block assists.
 
Holy Cross had two players with double-doubles. Sifferlen completed hers with 10 digs. Freshman setter Lizzie Webb logged hers with a match-high 29 assists and 12 digs. Webb served up three of the Crusaders five aces.
 
SET-BY-SET:
1ST: The Lady Eagles tallied 12 of their first 14 points with kills to build a 14-10 lead midway through the opening period. However, Holy Cross held NCCU to just two more kills for the rest of the set to rally for the five-point win. The Lady Eagles continued to lead 16-13 before the Crusaders went on a 12-5 closing run. A decisive 7-0 outburst that featured two aces by Webb put Holy Cross ahead for the remainder of the set.
 
2ND: NCCU quickly doubled up the Crusaders, 8-4, with Kierra Shipman and Singletary both recording two kills. The Maroon and Gray led 10-7 when Holy Cross surged ahead with six consecutive points. The designated visitors hit .289 in the second set to stay in front and prevail by seven points.
 
3RD: The Crusaders looked to be in cruise control, jumping out to a 10-4 advantage in the final set and increasing the surplus to eight at 17-9. At that point, Curran netted a kill and an ace and Singletary followed with two straight kills to jumpstart a 9-3 rally. NCCU got to within two points on four occasions late in the match, including as late as 20-18 on a Jordan Shipman dump over kill. Holy Cross answered by winning five of the final seven serves to close out the contest.
 
OTHER NOTES, STATS & FACTS:
Friday's meeting marked the first encounter between NCCU and Holy Cross volleyball.
 
UP NEXT:
NCCU wraps up play in the JMU Invitational against Georgia State University on Saturday at 11 a.m. For more information, fans are encouraged to visit www.NCCUEaglePride.com.