Live Stats for Hampton | Live Video Streaming
NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State volleyball team will wrap up the regular season this week beginning Wednesday against Hampton at Joseph Echols Hall. The Spartans last home match of the year, against their cross-bay rival no less, is scheduled to start at 6 p.m.
Following that contest, NSU travels to Florida to play its final two conference matches of the season at Bethune-Cookman Friday and Florida A&M Sunday with a 3 p.m. start time for both.
For live stats of the match against Hampton, click here. NSU will also carry a live video stream of the game. For more information and to sign up, click here.
The Spartans currently own an 11-18 overall record, but more importantly stand 4-2 in the MEAC Southern Division. NSU is third in the standings at the moment but can force a three-way tie with South Carolina State and Florida A&M with a pair of wins in the Sunshine State this weekend.
S.C. State finished up its MEAC season with a 6-2 mark, while FAMU currently owns first place with a 6-1 record. Should the Spartans win this weekend, then all three teams at the top will have gone 1-1 against each other as well as 2-0 against B-CU and North Carolina A&T, forcing an even deeper tiebreaker. The Spartans are guaranteed to finish no worse than third place in the division.
Scouting the Spartans
Sophomore Charlotte Armstead has been the leader on offense as of late, totaling 2.48 kills per set. Freshman Arielle Knafel and sophomore Ellica Morris played solid in NSU's 3-1 loss at North Carolina Central Sunday and rank 2-3 on the team with 2.26 and 2.15 kills, respectively. Morris also has a team-best 0.33 service aces, while junior Nicole Kessner hands out 7.74 assists per contest.
Freshman Noelle Eagles paces the way with 3.78 digs, with Knafel (2.74) and redshirt sophomore Paige Gary-Canty (2.16) also adding to the backcourt defense. Junior Jasmine Frazier and Armstead are the leaders at the net, with Frazier totaling 0.67 blocks and Armstead pitching in with 0.57.
As a team, NSU is limiting opponents to a .159 attack percentage and 9.8 kills per set, while the Spartans total 10.9 kills and attack at a .111 clip. The Spartans also post more digs (13.1-11.6) but still trail by a sizeable margin in blocks (2.1-1.3) and by a narrow edge in service aces (1.59-1.51).
Needing One More Win
With just one more win before the end of the season, NSU will have secured its second-most wins as a Division I school. The Spartans had 11 victories in 1999, with the all-time D-I high of 19 set in 1998.
Record Watch
With the season winding down, the NSU record book could see major changes after the year is out.
Team Season Records:
Kills (1,314 – 1993; 1,184 – 2010)
Assists (1,084 – 1993; 1,074 – 2010)
Block Assists (234 – 2006; 215 – 2010)
Individual Season Records:
Kills (307, April Johnson, 1996; 268, Charlotte Armstead, 2010)
Assists (818, Solange Honore, 2008; 735, Nicole Kessner, 2010)
Block Assists (69, Karina Moore, 2005; 58, Jasmine Frazier, 2010)
Digs (449, April Johnson, 1996; 404, Noelle Eagles, 2010)
Tops in the MEAC
NSU ranks just ahead of Delaware State to lead the MEAC in opponent hitting percentage at .159. The Spartans rank second in service aces (1.51 per set) as well as third in digs (13.13).
Individually, Eagles and Morris rank fourth in digs and service aces, respectively, while Kessner stands fifth in assists.
About Hampton
The Pirates finished the MEAC regular season 3-7 and in fifth place in the Northern Division. The Pirates stand 7-23 overall and will wrap up their season against Norfolk State and then Virginia Commonwealth next Tuesday.
Aaryn Harrison is one of six players to appear in at least 23 matches and average over one kill per set, as she totals 2.73 kills to lead the team. Sheileen Pagan ranks second with 1.91 kills and also averages 2.03 digs. Lina Cordoba ranks third with 1.75 kills and also leads the team with a .282 attack percentage and 0.82 blocks.
Lihi Elkayam averages 7.18 assists per set, with Juliana Chavez totaling 5.57 assists. Ivana Suput is the team leader in digs with 3.62, with Mianna Armstrong ranking second with 2.19.
As a team, Hampton hits .122 with 9.5 kills per set compared to .213 and 11.7 kills for opponents. The Pirates also trail in digs (12.4-11.2), service aces (2.2-1.3) and blocks (1.9-1.5).
About Bethune-Cookman
The Wildcats will wrap up their regular season with visits from Stetson on Wednesday and NSU Friday before heading to the conference tournament next week as the fourth-place team in the Southern Division. The Wildcats stand 7-24 overall and 2-5 in the conference.
Jessica Wilson and Krysta Gardner form the 1-2 punch for the offense with 2.44 and 2.06 kills per set, respectively, while Alexis Bliese totals 6.80 assists. Jennifer Jimenez has a team-leading 0.35 service aces and also stands second with 2.44 digs.
Jacqueline Woodyear paces the Wildcats with 3.58 digs, and Kaiyana Johnson has a team-best 58 total blocks on the year.
About Florida A&M
After starting the year off 0-11 against demanding competition, the Rattlers have won 10 of their last 12, including the last four in a row, to stand 10-13 overall. FAMU, 6-1 in the MEAC, concludes its season against the Spartans after last playing Bethune-Cookman Sunday on ESPNU.
Katherine Huanec is one of three players with at least two kills per set as she boasts a team-leading 2.85. Behind her are Maria Ceccarelli with 2.30 kills and Pamela Barrera with 2.11. Diana Gonzalez sets them up with 8.83 assists, while Ceccarelli also has a team-leading 20 service aces.
Susan Egoavil easily leads the team and ranks second in the conference with 4.48 digs, and Ceccarelli anchors the blocking with 0.70 per set.
Up Next
The Spartans will head to Baltimore to take part in the MEAC tournament starting Nov. 19, hosted by Coppin State.
