NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State volleyball team shoots for its first win in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference as the Spartans head to Greensboro to face North Carolina A&T Friday at 6 p.m. at the Corbett Sports Center.

NSU comes in with a 5-14 overall mark and a 0-1 slate in the MEAC after dropping a 3-1 decision to Florida A&M Monday at home. North Carolina A&T arrives with a 2-20 record after falling to North Carolina Central, 3-0, on Wednesday.

After a solid match against the Rattlers, freshman Arielle Knafel bumped her kills average to 2.60 per set, with sophomore Charlotte Armstead ranking second on the team with 2.22. Junior setter Nicole Kessner controls the offense with 7.66 assists.

On defense, freshman Noelle Eagles collects a team-best 4.01 digs, with Knafel contributing 2.97 digs as well. Junior Jasmine Frazier posts 0.62 blocks per set, with Armstead right behind her at 0.56.

As a team, NSU hits .092 compared to .194 for opponents. The Spartans have the edge in kills (10.90-10.33 per set) and digs (13.38-12.00), but trail in service aces (1.76-1.36) and blocks (2.19-1.24).

Back on Track
Knafel had one of her best matches of the season against the Rattlers, hitting .227 and adding 18 kills, the second most on the season for the rookie. It was also her third-highest hitting percentage of the year, which she added along with 11 digs and three blocks.

Destined for More
After setting the school record with 30 digs in the third match of the season, Eagles has now tied that mark and also posted 28 digs in two of the previous four matches. With 28 against the Rattlers on Monday, Eagles would certainly have broken the record had the match gone into a fifth set.

How good has Eagles and the defense been this year? Twice the Spartans had 90 or more digs as a team, with 90 against Delaware State Sept. 25 and 98 against UNC Greensboro Aug. 28. No other MEAC school has reached the 90-dig plateau so far this season.

About North Carolina A&T
The Aggies will begin the MEAC portion of their season against the Spartans, and they come in with just a 2-20 record on the season after dropping the previous seven matches of the season. Both wins on the year have come against Savannah State, one at home and one on the road, and all but two of the team's 20 losses have come by a 3-0 score.

Prior to Wednesday's match against North Carolina Central, Jeana Daniels led all players with 1.55 kills per set and was the team's top defender with 0.80 blocks. Setter Amber Inman is one of seven players to average at least one dig per set, as she leads the team with 1.82 digs, 0.33 service aces and 5.36 assists per set. Tatiana Cooper ranks second on the team in both kills (1.27) and digs (1.61).

As a team, the Aggies hit just .038 compared to a .276 percentage for opponents. As expected with their record, N.C. A&T also trails in kills per set (11.94-6.44), digs (11.21-9.33) and especially in service aces (3.29-1.23), although the Aggies have kept the margin close in blocks (1.45-1.37).

Up Next
The first of six straight matches at home begins next Monday at 6 p.m. at Joseph Echols Hall against Savannah State.