DAVIDSON, N.C. — Both teams hit over. 250 for the match, but the Seahawks had nearly 30 more attempts on the attack to survive all three sets by matching 25-21 scores to prevail 3-0 over North Carolina Central University in the opening match of the Davidson College Invitational.
UNCW converted 114 attempts into 51 kills to improve to 7-1 on the season while the Lady Eagles remained winless at 0-9 after completing 31 kills on 86 attempts.
NC Central will play two more matches in the Davidson Invite on Saturday, battling the host Wildcats at Noon and Presbyterian College at 4 p.m.
NCCU HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:
The Lady Eagles hit a season-best .267, with 31 kills and just eight errors on their 86 swings. It marked the first time NCCU hit over .200 in its first nine matches.
Junior
Christine Alcox had a hot hand for the Lady Eagles with nine kills and a .471 hitting percentage. Classmate
McKayla Young added six kills on just 10 tries for a .500 hitting percentage.
Sophomore setter
Celene Morris was one dig shy of another double-double, tallying 17 assists and nine digs. Junior libero
Yomaries Villegas contributed a match-high 13 digs. Sophomore
Arlanda Faulkner was second on the team with 7.5 points (five kills, two aces and a block assist).
UNCW HIGHLIGHTS & STATS:
The duo of senior Madison Peters and junior Jaime Thomas led the victors with 11 kills apiece.
The Seahawks hit .298 with freshman setter Katie Lanz orchestrating the attack with 25 assists.
SET-BY-SET:
1ST: Peters ripped her sixth kill of the opener on set-point to give UNCW the early advantage. The Lady Eagles kept the set close by hitting .375.
2ND: A kill by sophomore
Ammaarah Williams gave NCCU a late 21-19 edge, but the Seahawks rattled off the next six points to rally for the win. The closing surge featured three aces by senior Kendall Bender.
3RD: The Lady Eagles once again held a late lead, this time at 18-17 after consecutive kills by Morris and sophomore
Jasmine Sanders. However, four late NCCU errors helped UNCW to pull ahead and complete the sweep.
