DURHAM, N.C. – Junior setter Paige Phillips provided 17 assists and 15 digs for host North Carolina Central University, but the visiting Elon University volleyball team hit a season-high .344 to complete a straight-set victory in McDougald-McLendon Arena Tuesday evening.
 
The Phoenix progressively got better each set in winning 25-22, 25-14 and 25-9. Elon (10-2) won its seventh consecutive match. NCCU (1-6) was denied a win in its home opener for the seventh straight season with the Lady Eagles last home-opening victory coming against High Point University in 2009.
 
NCCU HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:
Phillips collected her first double-double of the season and sixth of her career with her team-high assist and dig totals.
 
Senior Casey Curran led NCCU in kills for the fourth time in seven matches with eight spikes. Sophomore Jazmine Daye supplied six kills while both senior Kelsey Murphy and sophomore Whitney White tallied five kills. Day added three block assists for 7.5 points.
 
Sophomore libero Bree Simmons chipped in nine digs and had two of the NCCU's three aces. Freshman Nia Singletary recorded a season-high eight digs in her first collegiate start.
 
ELON HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:
The Phoenix had 40 kills on 93 swings with just eight errors for their 34-percent precision. Seven Elon players notched multiple kills with junior Sydel Curry (21 assists) orchestrating the first two sets and freshman Rox Wood (11 assists) taking over in the third.
 
Sophomore Kam Terry led all players with 10 kills. Junior Sydney Busa followed with seven spikes. Both players lifted up eight digs. Senior Ally Karle tacked on six kills and was part of five kills (two solo, three assists). Sophomore libero Maddie Jaudon was Elon's defensive leader with 19 digs.
 
SET-BY-SET:
1ST: The Phoenix led from the onset and pulled out to seven point cushion at 22-15 before NCCU made late run to keep things interesting. The Lady Eagles scored the next six points to pull within one at 22-21. The rally featured a kill and an ace by Murphy around two Curran kills. The squads traded the next two points with a kill by Daye inching NCCU to within one at 23-22. However, a pair of kills off the arms of senior Ebony Scott and junior Michelle Klein ended the set in favor of the visitors. Curran had six of her eight kills in the opening set.
 
2ND: NCCU grabbed its only lead of the match on an ace by Simmons to make the score 4-3 in the middle set. The Phoenix responded with the next nine points on Jaudon's service rotation to pull out to an eight-point advantage at 12-4. Elon's cushion grew to a dozen a couple times before winning by 11 points.
 
3RD: The Phoenix had their best hitting set in the third, ripping 13 kills on 25 attempts with only two errors for a hitting percentage of .440. Elon won the first three points and extended the lead to double-digits as quickly as 16-6 before coasting to the 16-point triumph.
 
OTHER NOTES, STATS & FACTS:
Elon is 10-0 against the Lady Eagles in NCCU's Division I era (since 2007).
 
UP NEXT:
NCCU continues its three-match homestand with a non-conference tilt against Winthrop University on Friday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. For more information, fans are encouraged to visit www.NCCUEaglePride.com.