CHARLESTON, S.C. — Sophomore setter Celene Morris notched her eighth double-double of the season for the North Carolina Central University volleyball team in a 3-1 non-conference road loss at The Citadel on Monday.
 
The Bulldogs avenged a loss to the Lady Eagles in Durham in September by rallying for the 23-25, 25-16, 25-14, 26-24 triumph. The Citadel improved to 6-13 on the season.
 
NC Central (3-17) returns home to host three matches in five days starting with a non-conference showdown against Elon University on Wednesday at 6 p.m.  
 
NC CENTRAL HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:
 
Morris topped the Lady Eagles with her totals of 28 assists and 15 digs.
 
Junior Christine Alcox once again paced NCCU's attack with 14 kills. Classmate McKayla Young followed with nine kills and a team-best five block assists.
 
THE CITADEL HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:
 
A trio of Bulldogs reached double-digit kills with Mellanie King ripping 15 kills, Maddy Cardenas spiking down 14 kills and Sharlissa De Jesus smashing 13 kills. Megan Fuhr setup The Citadel attack that hit .243 with 47 assists.
 
1ST SET: The Citadel held a late 21-17 advantage before NCCU rallied with an 8-2 run to win the set by two points. Young had a pair of kills on the closing rally, including on set point.
 
2ND SET: The Bulldogs answered with a nine-point win. The Citadel was clinging to a 12-11 edge before going on a 6-1 run to create the separation the Bulldogs needed to level the match.  
 
3RD SET: The hosts hit .520 to roll to an 11-point triumph and take the set lead.
 
4TH SET: NCCU fought back from an eight-point deficit, 16-8, before rallying back to take a 24-20 lead with a 16-4 comeback that featured aces off the arms of sophomore Ammaarah Williams, senior Jessica Pilivi and junior Yomaries Villegas. A kill by Alcox finished the run that gave four chances at set point. However, The Citadel survived each time and ended the match on a 6-0 surge. King's match-high 15th kill finished off the contest.