DURHAM, N.C. – Senior setter Paige Phillips recorded her sixth double-double of the season on her Senior Day in leading the North Carolina Central University volleyball team in a 3-1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) loss to Bethune-Cookman University on Sunday afternoon.
 
The Wildcats slipped past the Lady Eagles by a final margin of 25-16, 23-25, 25-17, 25-22.
 
BCU (12-13 Overall, 9-1 MEAC) secured at least a share of the MEAC Southern Division regular season title with the win. NCCU (4-19, 4-6) will enter postseason play as the No. 4 seed from the Southern Division and will play the top seed from the Northern Division and host University of Maryland Eastern Shore in the quarterfinals of the 2017 MEAC Volleyball Championship Tournament on Friday, Nov. 17.
 
NCCU HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:
Phillips totaled 37 assists and 10 digs in her home finale for her sixth double-double. The Birmingham, Alabama, product has 1,874 career assists for the maroon and gray. Phillips will finish her collegiate career as NCCU's Division I era (since 2007) leader in total assists and finish fourth all-time in program history.
 
Junior Whitney White pounded down 18 kills to lead the Lady Eagle attack. She also contributed on six of eight blocks to finish with a 21.5-point performance. Freshman Christine Alcox added 10 kills and eight digs and classmate Diamond Williams tallied a season-high five kills.
 
Junior libero Bree Simmons chipped in a team-best 17 digs.
 
BETHUNE-COOKMAN HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:
The Wildcats hit .234 and got a match-high 21 kills from senior Alondra Bautista. Fellow seniors Jai Chapman and Rakaya Neely notched 14 and 10 kills, respectively.
 
Senior setter Phalen Clark logged 50 assists and sophomore libero Alana Handy finished with 33 assists.
 
SET-BY-SET:
1ST: The Wildcats scored the first three points and led from the onset. A block by junior Erika Ianovale and White pulled NCCU to within two at 15-13 before BCU closed the period on a 10-3 run. The visitors hit .321 in the opening game with Bautista supplying six of their 15 kills.
 
2ND: In the tightest set of the match, NCCU trailed 21-18 before tying the match with a 7-2 rally. The surge featured kills by Ianovale and Williams. White and Alcox led NCCU's offense with four kills apiece.
 
3RD: Bethune-Cookman regained the lead by mimicking the first set: winning the first three points and never relinquishing the lead. The visitors constructed a 19-11 advantage and then maintained that same eight-point margin.
 
4TH: NCCU's only lead of the fourth came on a BCU service error to start the set. The Wildcats quickly rushed out to a 10-5 advantage. NCCU kept closing the gap and consecutive kills by White and Alcox inched the Lady Eagles to within one, 23-22, before Bethune-Cookman escaped by winning the next two serves. Bautista's 21st kill on match point sealed the final three-point set win.
 
UP NEXT:
NCCU will play in the quarterfinals of the 2017 MEAC Volleyball Championship tournament on Friday, Nov. 17 in Princess Anne, Maryland. Match time will be announced by the league office on Monday.