DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Delicia Pierre had 14 kills and a career-high 21 digs as Bethune-Cookman came from behind to defeat North Carolina Central in a dramatic 3-2 (22-25,16-25,25-22,25-23,15-10) match Sunday afternoon in Moore Gym.
Lauren Turner and Destiny Hudson added 12 and 11 kills, respectively, as the Lady Cats (6-13,4-0 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) won their second straight five-set match and increased their winning streak to four, a first for the program since 2008.
Hazel Ortiz Rosado (47 kills, 16 digs, seven kills) tied the fifth set with a kill that made it 6-6, then reeled four straight points from the service line to give the Lady Cats a 10-6 lead. The Eagles (0-20,0-3) got as close as 11-9 before Bethune-Cookman closed it out with a 4-1 run.
Turner had four kills in the third set as Bethune-Cookman rallied from a 20-12 deficit to extend the match.
Pierre registered nine kills and 15 digs in the final two sets to pace the comeback.
In the fourth set, the Lady Cats saw early leads of 8-1 and 10-3 disappear, but were able to rally from a 22-20 deficit. After tying it a 23-23, kills from Ortiz Rosado and Rhea Simon (nine kills and a career-high 19 digs) helped Bethune-Cookman force a fifth set.
Normarie Rolon and Rechez Lindsay contributed 18 and 16 digs, respectively, to help the Lady Cats go to 4-0 in league play for the first time in program history. This was also the first time Bethune-Cookman has rallied from a two-set deficit since Head Coach Isaac Raphael arrived in 2011.
Coached by former Stetson assistant Nicki Holmes, the Eagles had a match-high 24 kills from Ashley McCarthy.
Bethune-Cookman hosts Florida Gulf Coast Tuesday at 7 p.m.