TICKETS
|
CALENDAR
RECRUITING
|
CONTACT US
|
Aug. 29, 2009 Durham, N.C. - The Southern Conference proved themselves as tough competition for the Eagles, who dropped two disappointing matches to The Citadel and Elon on Saturday. North Carolina Central dropped a 3-1 decision to The Citadel by scores of 25-20, 22-25, 16-25, and 21-25, and fell to Elon, 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-12). “We have the talent, but we have to be able to maintain focus from start to finish,” said NCCU head coach Georgette Crawford-Crooks. “We started off really strong with our win over High Point, but we are more capable than what we showed the rest of the weekend.” NCCU dominated The Citadel in the first set, hammering a .360 on offense. With 13 kills in the set, the Eagles were in control. Defensively, they held the Bulldogs to a .240 hitting percentage and forced five errors. The Eagles claimed the first set, 25-20, after an outstanding offensive performance. Unfortunately, the dominance wouldn’t continue as the Bulldogs’ defense began to take control. In the second set, the Eagles struggled to break down the Bulldog defense. NCCU hit .091 on offense and recorded seven kills. Defensively, they continued to stay strong, holding The Citadel to a .111 hitting percentage with eight errors. The Bulldogs evened the score at 1-1 after a 25-22 victory. In the next two sets, the Eagles struggled to find a rhythm. The Citadel took advantage of the Eagles’ struggles and continued to force errors. After a long battle on both sides of the net, the Eagles dropped two straight sets to fall 3-1 in the match. Avaniki Campbell led the Eagles on offense with 13 kills and hit .200, while Kiara Brown contributed 25 assists. Defensively, the Eagles were led by Brown with six digs. On the net, Campbell and Sashalee Wallen dominated with six and five blocks, respectively. Campbell had a stellar performance from the service line with four aces.
The Citadel was led by junior middle hitter Jessica Maas, who tallied 12 kills and earned a .381 hitting percentage. Alyssa Holum contributed 22 assists, while Rachael Farrell added four service aces. Defensively, the Bulldogs were led by Tatum Jestila with seven digs. The Bulldogs earned their first win of the season and improved to 1-2 on the season, while the Eagles dropped to 1-2 on the season. To conclude the Hilton RTP/NCCU Volleyball Tournament, the Eagles had to face the undefeated Elon Phoenix. Elon, a dominant team in the Southern Conference, showed power and strength on the offensive end and was too much for the Eagle defense. NCCU struggled to stop the power of Elon’s hitters, who hit an impressive .303 on the match. In the first and second sets alone, the Phoenix hit above .400. NCCU recorded 22 digs on defense and 11 blocks. Campbell had four of those blocks, while Shantel Moore contributed three. Belinda Behncke-Biney led in digs with seven. Freshman Tocarra Jones made her collegiate debut and added two digs on defense. On offense, the Eagles were led by Behncke-Biney with seven kills, followed by Campbell with five. Brown collected 17 assists. The Eagles tallied three service aces in the match. Elon was led by Sarah Schermerhorn with nine kills, followed by Traci Stewart with seven kills. Emily Regan collected 16 assists. Defensively, the Phoenix was led by Stewart and Ali Deatsch with five digs apiece. Caroline Lemke led the Phoenix in blocks with three. Elon remained undefeated in the tournament and continued their winning streak with a perfect record of 4-0. NCCU drops to 1-3 on the season and looks to redeem themselves as they go into their second of five tournaments this season. For her outstanding performance during the tournament, Campbell was selected to the Hilton RTP/NCCU Volleyball All-Tournament Team. The Eagles will return to the hardwood next weekend when they travel to Charlottesville, Va., to take part in the Holiday Inn Jefferson Cup, which is hosted by the University of Virginia. The tournament will take place Sept. 4-5 and the Eagles will battle Campbell, Virginia and VCU. For more information on Eagles Volleyball or NCCU Athletics, visit the official website at www.NCCUEaglePride.com. Hilton RTP/NCCU Volleyball Tournament All-Tournament Team Sarah Schermerhorn, Elon Traci Stewart, Elon Ashley Jones, Georgia State Tatum Jestila, The Citadel Megan Smith, High Point Avaniki Campbell, North Carolina Central Kelsey Benorden, UNC Asheville Lindsey Strucko, UNC Wilmington Most Valuable Player Traci Stewart, Elon |
 |
