DURHAM, N.C. – Senior outside hitter Arlanda Faulkner contributed a season-high 20 points, including participating in half of North Carolina Central University's season-best 12 team blocks, as the Eagles secured a 3-1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) win over Norfolk State University Sunday afternoon inside McDougald-McLendon Arena.
 
Faulkner led all players with 17 kills and just one hitting error on 35 attempts for a scorching .457 hitting percentage. She added nine digs to just miss her second straight double-double.
 
Faulkner and senior middle blocker McKayla Young registered a tandem block on match-point to secure the triumph. The dozen maroon and gray blocks are a new match-high total as the Eagles prevailed by a score of 26-24, 24-26, 25-17, 25-10. NCCU (5-11 Overall, 4-3 MEAC) moved back over .500 in league skirmishes.
 
Young, who had five kills, highlighted NCCU's front row defense with one solo block and six block assists. Faulkner matched Young with six block assists. Young totaled nine points.
 
Senior Ammaarah Williams tallied her second double-double of the season with 13 kills and 15 digs. She hit .312 for the match and partook in four blocks (one solo).
 
NCCU's defense was also highlighted with a balanced effort on the back row. The Eagles finished with 83 digs, which is the most they have had in conference play this season. Senior Celene Morris topped four NCCU passers reaching double digits with 19 digs. Sophomore setter Lauren Janok matched Williams with 15 digs while classmate Jada Buckhanon supplied 10 digs in her first libero start of the campaign.
 
The Eagles hit .209 for the match as Janok setup the attack with 42 assists to finish off her eighth double-double of the season.
 
Norfolk State (7-12 Overall, 3-5 MEAC) jumped out to a 13-6 lead in the first set in its attempt for a fourth straight win. However, NCCU rallied for a 26-24 first-set win with a 20-11 run. Faulkner's sixth kill finished off the opening period.
 
The Eagles constructed a 21-17 lead in the second set with five blocks during that span. The Spartans had their own response to level the match with their own 26-24 win. Senior Rachel Williams had 10 of her 22 digs in the set and started the 9-3 rally with a solo block.
 
The hosts regained the lead in the match with the help of the Spartans, who supplied more than half of NCCU's points in the third set with 13 errors. The Eagles maintained the momentum in the fourth, coasting to a 15-point set win by hitting .394 in the final frame.
 
Senior libero Nicole Rodriguez kept NSU in a lot of points with a match-high 27 digs. Sophomore Paola Matos and junior Shonte Seale netted 13 and 11 kills, respectively, while freshman setter Caris Cross chipped in 40 assists and 11 digs.
 
NC Central will next travel to Baltimore, Maryland, for a pair of road MEAC clashes, visiting Morgan State University on Friday at 4 p.m. and Coppin State University on Sunday at 1 p.m.