Box Score

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Norfolk State volleyball team will head into MEAC tournament as the No. 3 seed in the Southern Division after dropping a 3-1 decision to Florida A&M Sunday to complete the regular season.

The Spartans won the first set, 25-21, thanks to 11 kills from sophomore Charlotte Armstead, but the nine-time defending MEAC champion Rattlers got back on track by winning the next three sets, 25-13, 25-19, 25-17, at the Al Lawson Center.

The loss gives NSU sole possession of third place in the MEAC Southern Division with a 5-3 mark. It tied NSU's best all-time MEAC record of 5-3 set in 1998.

The Spartans fell to 13-19 overall, while Florida A&M improved to 11-13 overall and 7-1 in the Southern Division. The Rattlers earned the South's No. 1 seed in the upcoming MEAC tournament, while South Carolina State finished second with a 6-2 record.

By earning the regular season's No. 3 seed, the Spartans will take on the Northern Division's No. 2 seed Delaware State Friday at 7 p.m. in the conference tournament hosted by Coppin State.

Despite the loss, Armstead and junior Nicole Kessner each set single-season school records. Armstead totaled 19 kills to give her 318 for the season, passing the former top season mark of 307 set by April Johnson in 1996.

Kessner had 44 assists to move past Solange Honore, who previously held the top season mark of 818 assists set in 2008. Kessner now has 851 assists for the season.

Armstead's 19 kills was a match-high as she hit .394 for the match. Sophomore Ellica Morris added 13 kills as NSU hit .184 for the match, but the Rattlers committed just 14 attack errors and hit .370.

Redshirt sophomore Paige Gary-Canty had a team-high 11 digs, as FAMU held a 38-33 advantage there. The Rattlers also had more blocks, 9-5, and service aces, 5-2.

FAMU was led by three players in double figures in kills, with Katherine Huanec totaling 13, and Pamela Barrera and Maria Ceccarelli adding 12 and 11, respectively. Susan Egoavil had a match-high 13 digs, and Diana Gonzalez totaled 42 assists. Barrera (five blocks) and Huanec and Ceccarelli (four blocks each) led the defense up front.

It did not look good for NSU as the match got underway, as the Rattlers raced to a 6-2 lead and extended it to 10-4 before NSU called an early timeout. The Spartans got back into the match after a 5-0 run, capped by a service ace from freshman Arielle Knafel, made it 13-12 NSU.

Neither team got more than a one-point lead until Armstead put the team on her back and hit four-straight kills for a 22-18 lead. The Rattlers got as close as two points down 23-21, but Armstead again was there for the Spartans as she ended the set with back-to-back kills for a 25-21 win.

In addition to 11 kills for Armstead, Kessner totaled 18 assists as NSU hit a blistering .452 in the first set.

A block by Morris and junior Jasmine Frazier got NSU to within one at 5-4 in the second set, but despite keeping things close, NSU fell behind after a 5-0 run by the Rattlers made it 14-7. Up 16-11, the Rattlers used a 7-0 run to eventually take the set, 25-13.

Not wanting to fall behind 2-1, a kill by Morris helped NSU take a 4-1 lead to start the third set, but a 7-1 run by the Rattlers gave them the lead, 9-6. NSU was down by two at 11-9 before FAMU rattled off six straight points for a commanding 17-9 lead.

Back-to-back solo blocks by Frazier and Gary-Canty got the deficit down to four at 19-15, but the Rattlers stayed the course and went on to win, 25-19.

Armstead's kill tied things up at 8-8 in the fourth set, but a 4-0 run by the Rattlers gave them a five-point lead at 14-9. Three more kills by Armstead within a four-serve spant cut the lead to two at 18-16, but a 5-0 run by FAMU put the set away, 25-17.

In addition to Armstead setting the single-season kills record, the Spartans set the team record for kills in a season with 1,319, topping the previous best of 1,314 set in 1993.

No. 3 seed NSU will head to the MEAC tournament beginning Friday against the No. 2 seed in the North, Delaware State, at 7 p.m.