NORFOLK, Va. – Tied atop the MEAC South Division standings with Florida A&M, the Norfolk State volleyball team will attempt to keep pace with the nine-time conference champions as the Spartans hit the road to face South Carolina State and Savannah State.
Winners of five of its last seven matches, NSU will face the Bulldogs and Tigers in back-to-back nights Wednesday at 6 p.m. and Thursday at 7 p.m.
NSU currently owns a 4-1 mark in the MEAC and is 10-16 overall following a six-match homestand. FAMU is also 4-1 with a 6-13 overall mark. The Rattlers currently own the tiebreaker after defeating NSU earlier this year, as FAMU's lone conference loss came at South Carolina State.
The Bulldogs are third in the South Division with a 3-2 record (10-20 overall), while Savannah State, 3-21 overall, will join the MEAC as a full member in 2011. NSU defeated both teams by 3-0 scores on Oct. 11 and 13 that kicked off the team's recent homestand.
The contest against the Bulldogs on Wednesday will mark the first road match for NSU in 19 days. Following these next two games, NSU will get a nine-day break before its next match on Nov. 7.
Sophomore Charlotte Armstead piled up 24 kills against North Carolina Central Sunday and now leads the team with 2.56 per set. Freshman Arielle Knafel ranks second with 2.31, while sophomore Ellica Morris stands third with 2.09. Junior Nicole Kessner averages 7.96 assists, with Morris is tops with 0.35 service aces.
At 3.80 digs, freshman Noelle Eagles tops all Spartans in that category, with Knafel (2.86) and redshirt sophomore Paige Gary-Canty (2.27) ranking second and third. Junior Jasmine Frazier has a team-best 0.68 blocks.
NSU hits .113 compared to .165 for opponents, averaging 11.0 kills with the opposition at 9.8 kills. NSU still has a big advantage in digs, 13.4-11.8, with the opposite true in blocks (2.1 to 1.3 for NSU). The Spartans slightly trail in service aces, 1.66-1.57.
About to be the All-Time Best
With 1,946 career assists, Kessner needs 26 more to move past Solange Honore for most all-time at NSU. Honore, who played from 2006-09, had 1,971 for her career.
Armstead now has 438 kills and recently moved into sixth place all-time, one ahead of Chanel Barnes who had 437 from 2003-06. Armstead, though, will sit in sixth for awhile, with the fifth-place person, Dianne Harris, up next with 607.
Armstead also ranks eighth with 88 blocks assists, five away from tying Angie Clewis for seventh. Kessner stands ninth in digs with 477, 25 away from moving into eighth.
Armstead Heating Up
After posting 24 kills Sunday against the Eagles – the most by a MEAC player this year and just two away from the all-time NSU record for a single match – Armstead is now averaging 3.10 kills per set during the last month of play. Go back just to the Oct. 4 match against Florida A&M, and that number jumps to 3.50 kills.
Her 24 kills was the most by an NSU player since Stacey Williams had 24 at Coppin State Nov. 15, 2003. The last time a player had more than 24 occurred Oct. 17, 2003 when Amanda Johnson set the school record against Howard.
Reaching for the Season Record
Armstead's recent outburst now has her within shouting distance of the single-season kills record. With 246 on the year, she is 61 away from tying the all-time mark of 307 kills set by April Johnson in 1996.
Also chasing season records are Eagles and Frazier. Eagles needs 84 digs to reach the all-time mark of 449 also set by Johnson in '96, while Frazier is 16 block assists away from reaching 69 and Karina Moore's top mark achieved in 2005.
Tops in the MEAC
NSU leads all MEAC teams in opponent hitting percentage at .165. The Spartans also rank second in service aces with 1.57 per set, third in kills (11.08) and digs (13.43), fourth in assists (10.10).
Morris and Eagles are the highest ranked individual players, as Morris stands fourth in service aces with 0.35 per set and Eagles ranks fourth in digs with 3.80. Other players ranked by the MEAC include Kessner in assists (7.96, fifth), Knafel in digs (2.86, seventh) and service aces (0.31, eighth), and Armstead in points (3.14, seventh).
One More Win
NSU needs to win one more match to tie the second-most wins in its Division I history. NSU also had 11 wins in 1999. The top program mark for D-I stands at 19 wins set in 1998.
The Spartans also need one more win to tie the most victories in MEAC play. NSU went 5-3 in '98, with the current Spartans owning a 4-1 mark.
About South Carolina State
The Bulldogs avenged a 3-0 loss in Tallahassee, Fla., by defeating FAMU the second time around, 3-2, at home. S.C. State most recently tallied a 3-0 win over North Carolina A&T Sunday following that big win over the Rattlers last Friday.
Jarne Gleaton leads the team with 3.10 kills per set, with three other players, Shabree Roberson, Elizabeth Webb and Desire Waller, also tallying more than two kills a set. Bria Brimmer is the team's primary setter at 8.90 assists. Melissa Robinson paces the backcourt defense with 2.94 digs, while Roberson and Tiffane' Jackson are solid up front with 0.84 and 0.81 blocks, respectively.
Prior to the match with A&T, S.C. State was attacking at a .160 compared to .214 for opponents, with Roberson the top attacker at .284. The Bulldogs were nearly even in blocks, trailing just 1.84-1.82, while also falling behind in digs (11.9-11.1) and service aces (1.6-1.4).
About Savannah State
The Tigers snapped a 13-match losing streak after beating Florida Memorial, 3-0, last Friday.
Bianca Helton leads the way with 1.97 kills per set, followed by Jennifer Lowe with 1.63 kills. Lowe also has a team-best 0.36 service aces, while Ashlee Butler hands out 5.84 assists. Kaneisha Hamilton easily leads the team with 3.61 digs, with Helton pacing the blocking 0.59 per set.
Opponents average 11.4 kills per set and attack at a .230 rate compared to 7.9 kills and a .025 clip for the Tigers. Opponents also have the edge in service aces, 2.4-1.4, digs, 12.4-10.7, and blocks, 1.6-1.0.
Up Next
NSU will get a much-needed week's reprieve before heading to NC Central Nov. 7 at 3 p.m.
