ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Sophomore Whitney White supplied the North Carolina Central University volleyball team with 8.5 points to highlight play for the Lady Eagles in a 3-0 loss to Stetson University in the UNC Asheville Invitational Saturday afternoon.
 
After surviving the first set, the Hatters (2-8) were able to complete the straight-set victory by scores of 25-23, 25-15 and 25-16. NCCU (1-5) was unable to win two consecutive matches after defeating Alabama A&M University in the morning session.
 
NCCU HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:
White posted her six kills on 15 swings with just one error for a .333 hitting percentage. Her five block assists were the most by an NCCU player this season.
 
Senior Casey Curran led the Lady Eagles in kills for the third time in six matches with seven spikes. She also accumulated 10 digs. Classmate Kelsey Murphy added five kills and sophomore Bree Simmons chipped in nine digs. Junior Paige Phillips topped NCCU with 20 assists and two aces.
 
STETSON HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:
The Hatters hit .232 in picking up their second win of the event and made an average of 16 digs per set.
 
Senior Madison Akins highlighted play for Stetson with 10 kills, eight digs and four combined blocks. Sophomore Charlotte Earnhart followed with nine kills and fellow sophomore Roxy Lake orchestrated the Hatters attack with 25 assists. Senior McKenna Foster served up four of Stetson's eight aces.
 
SET-BY-SET:
1ST: Two consecutive aces by Phillips deadlocked the opening set at 19-all. The Hatters, who led for majority of the set, regained the lead with the next three points. NCCU inched to within one point two more times but were unable to complete the comeback. Akins had seven kills for the victors in the pivotal win.  
 
2ND: Stetson never trailed in the middle set and quickly constructed a 7-1 advantage. The Hatter lead grew to double digits as quickly as 13-3 and they were able to win by that same margin.
 
3RD: NCCU's only lead of the final set came at 1-nil, but the Lady Eagles kept the game closer for a while closing the gap to two at 14-12. Stetson pulled away late using a key 8-3 run.
 
OTHER NOTES, STATS & FACTS:
Stetson improved to 2-0 all-time against NCCU.
 
UP NEXT:
NCCU will make its 2016 home debut on Tuesday in a non-conference match against Elon University. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. inside McDougald-McLendon Arena. For more information, fans are encouraged to visit www.NCCUEaglePride.com.