DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University volleyball team fell Sunday as the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore posted a 3-1 (23-25, 21-25, 25-18, 25-27) victory in McDougald-McLendon Arena.
NCCU (6-18, 4-9 MEAC) honored five Eagles pre-match for Senior Day as Bella Dearinger, Azra Osmanovic, Loren Johnson, Vanila Pulu-Suliafu and Kennedy Clark played one final time in the Nest.
The Eagles offense was paced by junior Kamren Harper, who finished with 23 kills on the day. Junior Tayah Little added 20 and sophomore Kayden Cupid chipped in with 10 as part of a balanced NC Central attack.
Defensively, three players reached double figures in digs, including junior Gabriela Felix-Baeza's 21, 10 from junior Emmie Modlin, and 10 more from Pulu-Suliafu.
How It Happened
The Eagles rallied from a seven-point 20-13 hole in the first set, but UMES hung on to win the opener 25-23.
NCCU fell in the second set 25-21, digging a 2-0 hole in the match. The Eagles trailed by as many as seven points as the Hawks grabbed the advantage for good at 17-16 in a set that was tied up four times before UMES took over in the second half of the stanza.
After losing sets one and two, NC Central rallied to win the third set and make it a 2-1 match. The Eagles took the set 25-18 thanks to a solid showing on the attacking end. NCCU put together a .355 attack percentage with 16 kills in the set win.
The Maroon and Gray ended on a strong note, stretching their lead to its largest point in the set to finish out the stanza. NC Central's front row had a solid defensive performance, blocking six Maryland-Eastern Shore attacks in the stanza guaranteeing a fourth set.
NC Central couldn't keep the rally going and fell in the fourth set 27-25 to drop the match. The Eagles couldn't hang on in a back-and-forth set, losing in a stanza that featured five lead changes and was tied 16 times. Neither team opened up a lead of more than four points along the way.
The Eagles have one more match before heading into the postseason, traveling to South Carolina State University on Friday, Nov. 15 at 6 p.m.
For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com, or download the NCCU Eagles Athletics app.
