Live Stats

NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State volleyball team will attempt to get back into the win column but must overcome a daunting task in accomplishing that as the Spartans host Florida A&M Monday at 6 p.m. at Joseph Echols Hall in the MEAC opener for both teams.

The match marks the beginning of a stretch in which the team will play seven of eight matches at home.

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The Spartans are looking to regroup after coming up short against Coppin State, 3-2, and UMES, 3-0, at Maryland Eastern Shore Saturday. The losses dropped NSU to 5-13 on the season.

For NSU, the offense flows through team captain Nicole Kessner, who averages 7.49 assists per set and is coming off a match with UMES in which she also led the team with eight kills. Freshman Arielle Knafel and sophomore Charlotte Armstead rank 1-2 on the team with 2.48 and 2.18 kills, respectively.

Freshman Noelle Eagles, last week's co-Rookie of the Week, is tops on the team with 3.84 digs per set, while Knafel and redshirt sophomore Paige Gary-Canty stand second and third with 2.98 and 2.15. Junior Jasmine Frazier is one of the top performers at the net with 0.57 blocks, while Armstead is right behind with 0.56.

As a team, NSU holds the edge over opponents in kills (10.9-10.3 per set) and digs (13.1-11.7) but trails in hitting percentage (.201-.092), service aces (1.8-1.4) and blocks (2.2-1.2).

About Florida A&M
The nine-time defending MEAC champions have struggled to open up the 2010 campaign, posting a 1-11 record but with losses to BCS conference schools such as No. 2 Texas, No. 5 Illinois, Long Beach State, Georgia Tech and Clemson, to name a few.

For the Rattlers, offensive production starts at setter with Diana Gonzalez, who averages 7.79 assists per set. She feeds the ball to the team's top hitter, Maria Ceccarelli, who has cards 2.51 kills per set. Katherine Huanec (2.31) and Pamela Barrera (2.03) also average more than two digs per set.

Defensively, Susan Egoavil is the heart and soul of the backcourt defense as she tallies 4.15 digs per set, with the next closest player being Karol Marquez at 1.87 digs. Ceccarelli also provides a big body up front with 0.67 blocks.

The Rattlers are hitting .108 compared to a .317 clip for opponents and trail in kills, 13.9-10.2. Opponents also have a huge edge in blocks (3.0-1.3 per set) and digs, (13.4-11.6). Florida A&M also trails in service aces (1.5-0.9).

Moving Up the List
With 76 career block assists, Armstead ranks tied for 10th all-time at NSU, while her 340 kills has her in 14th, just three away from moving up to 13th and 48 from moving into the top 10.

In addition to ranking second all-time in assists, Kessner also had 416 career digs, putting her in 10th as well at NSU and just 13 from moving into ninth place.

Eagles is aiming for the all-time season record for digs of 449 set by April Johnson in 1996. With 261 so far on the season, she is 188 short of tying the all-time mark. With 14 regular season matches left (plus at least one MEAC Tournament match), Eagles would need to average just 3.13 digs per set to tie the mark, assuming each of those 15 matches went to four sets. She currently averages 3.84 digs.

The same goes for Knafel as she chases the all-time kills mark. With 164 on the year, she is just 143 away from tying the all-time mark of 307 set by Johnson in '96. She would need to average 2.38 kills per set to tie the mark, assuming every match the rest of the way goes four sets. She currently averages 2.48 kills.

Up Next
The Spartans will take on North Carolina A&T Friday at 6 p.m. in Greensboro before returning home Oct. 8 against Savannah State.