Football | 9/22/2025 10:48:00 PM

RADFORD, Va. – Kamren Harper finished with 15 kills and Leanna Beaty added 10 kills as North Carolina Central prevailed over Radford 3-1 (25-22, 28-26, 14-25, 25-23) at the Dedmon Center on Monday.

Manuela Cripa Nasser totaled 39 assists, 10 digs and two service aces for the Eagles, who defeated Radford for the first time in program history. This was the first matchup between both teams since 2014.

Loren Johnson added 16 digs and three service aces and Jenelle Mason had eight kills and four blocks. Allyson Rouse collected five blocks and Beaty contributed three blocks while Makenzi Searcy chipped in nine digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• NCCU was resilient in its victory over Radford. The Eagles made key plays in crunch time to pull out the victory.
• It appeared the match would go to a fifth set after Radford rallied from a 19-14 deficit to pull even at 22-22 and 23-23 in the fourth set. But the poised Eagles took advantage of two Radford errors to win the match.
• The Eagles were clutch during the match which helped them win the first two sets. After watching Radford rally from a 20-13 first-set deficit, NCCU closed the door on the Highlanders. With NCCU leading 23-22, Searcy registered a kill from Cripa Nasser and Radford committed an attack error for the winning points in the 25-22 first-set win.
• NCCU rallied in the second set to pull out a 28-26 win. Behind 17-13 and 21-17, the Eagles mounted a comeback. With the score tied 25-25, the lead swayed back-and-forth before consecutive kills by Harper from Cripa Nasser gave the Eagles the two-point triumph in the pivotal set.
• After dropping the third set 14-25, the Eagles showed moxie in an opposing arena to claim victory in the fourth and final set.

NOTES

• NCCU is now 3-7 overall and Radford is 3-10.
• The win snapped a five-match losing skid.
• The Eagles defeated Radford for the first time in the seven-match series.
• NCCU held a higher attack percentage (.177 to .146) than Radford.
• The Eagles outblocked Radford 9-5.
• NCCU totaled seven service aces.

QUOTE
"It is great to be back in the win column," NCCU Head Coach Jonathan Paulk said. "We are starting to understand our roles on the court. We missed way fewer blocking assignments and were able to serve aggressively all night. It was a really strong performance by our middles on offense."

NEXT UP
The Eagles are back on the court Wednesday (Sept. 24) at Elon for a non-conference match at 6 p.m. The match can be seen on FloCollege.
 
For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com.