DOVER, Del. – Freshman middle hitter
Tori Wilson blasted eight kills and sophomore libero
Loren Johnson supplied 12 digs and two aces for sixth-seeded North Carolina Central University in a 3-0 loss in the 2022 MEAC Volleyball Championship quarterfinals to third-seeded Delaware State University on Friday night.
The host Hornets advance to the MEAC semifinals and will play second-seeded and defending champion Howard University on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. Delaware State (22-6) won all three of its matches against NCCU this season by matching 3-0 scores.
The Eagles were held to a negative hitting percentage (-.011) for the only time this season as they lost the match by set scores of 25-5, 25-20 and 25-15. NCCU had 22 hitting errors and registered just 21 kills while the Hornets hit .307 for the match.
Wilson had NCCU's lone hot hand as she ripped her eight kills on 13 attempts with just three errors for a .385 hitting percentage. Wilson was named to the MEAC All-Rookie Team earlier in the week with classmate
Kamren Harper, who had four kills. Junior
Abby Vacha chipped in five kills.
The Eagles only had two kills in the first set as DSU took control of the match from the start. NCCU only led in the second set, including as late as 17-16 on a kill by freshman
Emmie Modlin. However, the Hornets outscored the Eagles 9-3 from that point to win the middle set by five points. NCCU was within striking distance, 12-10, midway through the final frame before Delaware State closed the match with a 13-5 run.
Junior Alondra Maldonado is a First Team All-MEAC selection and she led the victors with a match-high nine kills. She also had four block assists for 11 total points. Classmate Valeria Otero added five kills and five aces to also reach double-digit points (10). Senior Malgorzata Andersohn and junior Alayna Lacy shared setting duties for the hot-hitting Hornets as the contributed 16 and 13 assists, respectively. Senior libero Jasmal Cruz led all players with 15 digs.
NC Central ended its season with a 7-19 overall record.
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