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NORFOLK, Va. – Riding a six-match losing streak, the Norfolk State volleyball team faces a critical weekend at the UNC Greensboro Spartan Spiketacular Friday and Saturday.
The Spartans will face Gardner-Webb Friday at 4 p.m., followed by a pair of matches Saturday. The team will take on the host UNC Greensboro Spartans Saturday at 10:30 a.m., then get an extended break before facing Morgan State at 5 p.m.
UNC Greensboro will offer a free video feed for the UNCG-NSU match but will not offer video streaming of NSU's other matches. UNCG will also offer live stats for every match.
For the first time this season, NSU will face an opponent it saw earlier in the year, as the Spartans fell to UNCG, 3-2, in an epic match at Echols Hall during the Spartan Classic to start the season. NSU earned a 2-0 lead in that match, lost the next two sets, then nearly won it in the fifth set before UNCG won, 16-14, for the final 3-2 margin.
NSU comes in at 3-8 overall after dropping all three matches by 3-0 scores at the Coastal Carolina Invitational last weekend. The Spartans fell to USC Upstate Friday and then Coastal Carolina and The Citadel Saturday.
So far on the season, the team is led on the offensive attack by freshman Arielle Knafel, who aveages 2.82 kills per set. Redshirt sophomore Paige Gary-Canty (2.21 kills), sophomore Charlotte Armstead (1.95) and junior Jasmine Frazier (1.77) also add to the attack.
The offense is set up by junior Nicole Kessner, who has posted 7.96 assists per set but has been hampered lately by a nagging shoulder injury. Sophomore Kristen Burt has filled in when Kessner's been out.
On defense, freshman Noelle Eagles contributes 4.15 digs per set, with Knafel contributing 2.95 and Gary-Canty at 1.97 digs. Frazier leads all player with 0.62 blocks per set.
As a team, NSU hits .074 while opponents attack at a .209 clip. Opponents also have the edge in blocks (2.3-1.1 per set) and service aces (2.0-1.3), while NSU leads in kills per set (10.5-10.2) and digs (12.7-11.5).
Conference Rankings
As a team, NSU ranks second in the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.209) and assists (9.68 per set), third in kills (10.50) and service aces (1.33) and fourth in digs (12.73).
Individually, Knafel still leads the league in service aces (0.42 per set), ranks third in points (3.41) and seventh in digs (2.95). Eagles sits third in digs at 4.15. Kessner would rank second in assists, but she has not played in 75 percent of NSU's sets.
Limiting Mistakes
Although opponents average more service aces than NSU, the Spartans have done well to limit points for the other team. In only two of the 11 matches so far this season have the Spartans had more service errors than their opponent.
Breaking Through on Blocks
Against USC Upstate Friday, NSU recorded more blocks than opponents for the first time all season. The Spartans held a 9-5 advantage for the match.
Kessner's Career Totals
With her pace slowed down recently, Kessner needs just six assists to put her in a tie for second all-time at NSU and nine digs to enter the top-10 list.
About Gardner-Webb
The Runnin' Bulldogs stand 4-6 on the season and winners of three of their past four after defeating USC Upstate, 3-1, on Tuesday. The team is 0-4 when playing on a neutral court.
Laura Wilcox is one of three players along with Molly Rhyne and Tyler Cockrell to average at least 2.0 kills per set. Wilcox has averaged 2.31 kills so far this season, with Rhyne (2.28) and Cockrell (2.15) right behind. Evan Moffitt has been the team's primary setter, posting 7.44 assists per set. Moffitt also ranks second on the team in digs with 2.36, while Melissa Richie owns the top mark for the Bulldogs with 2.44. Cockrell, meanwhile, is the team's top blocker at 1.15 blocks a set.
Gardner-Webb owns a slight edge over opponents in blocks, 2.1-2.0 per set, while opponents hold the edge in kills (12.5-10.4), assists (10.8-9.1), service aces (1.8-1.4) and digs (13.7-12.2).
About UNC Greensboro
After winning all four of their matches at the Spartan Classic to start the season, the UNCG Spartans sit 8-3 overall after dropping their last two matches to East Tennessee State and Austin Peay, with a Wednesday contest against North Carolina A&T at home still on tap.
The Spartans feature a balanced offense, with four players averaging two or more kills per set, led by Caley Redden at 2.97. Ari Lysacek leads with way with 7.91 assists, with several other players also seeing time at setter. As a team, UNCG averages nearly 15 digs per set, with Redden (3.37) and Kellie Orewiler (3.07) tops on the team. Opponents must watch out for Kayren Finney, who has totaled 1.50 blocks per set this year as well.
About Morgan State
The Bears owns a 1-10 record on the year, with their only win a 3-2 decision over St. Francis (Pa.) in the first match of the year. Since that win, the Bears have won just two sets combined in the 10 losses.
Erin Cox anchors the offense with 2.70 kills per set and Ashley Johnson chips in with 2.06 kills, while Ngebui Chafeh and Jourdan Lemons split time at setter with 5.16 and 4.37 assists, respectively. On the defensive side of the ball, Dina Beamon boasts a team-high 4.24 digs per set, and Dominique Bozier paces the way with 0.70 blocks.
As their record would suggest, opponents lead Morgan State in blocks per set (1.6-1.3), kills (12.6-8.9), digs (14.2-13.5), service aces (1.8-0.8) and assists (11.6-8.3).
Up Next
The Spartans will be back on their home court Sept. 25 as the team hosts Davidson and Delaware State for the Spartan Invitational at Echols Hall.
