Box Score
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Riding a career performance by sophomore Ellica Morris, the Norfolk State volleyball team ended its six-match losing streak with a 3-1 win over Gardner-Webb Friday afternoon at the Spartan Spiketacular at UNC Greensboro.
Morris totaled 21 kills on the day at Fleming Gymnasium and hit .341 to go along with nine digs as the Spartans rallied after dropping the first set, 25-23. NSU won the next three sets, 25-19, 25-18, 25-23, to improve to 4-8 on the year. The loss dropped the Runnin' Bulldogs to 4-7.
Morris broke her previous career high for kills in a match of 13 set against North Carolina Central Oct. 3, 2009.
Freshman Arielle Knafel posted a double-double for NSU with 13 kills and a match-high 21 digs, while junior Nicole Kessner rebounded after missing significant time the last two weekends with 34 assists. Sophomore Charlotte Armstead added seven kills, five blocks and three service aces to the effort.
The Bulldogs were led by Laura Wilcox, who was one of three players in double figures in kills with 13. Melissa Richie had 10 kills and a team-high 15 digs, while Evan Moffitt also posted a double-double with 32 assists and 10 digs.
The Spartans limited the Bulldogs to a .105 attack percentage while hitting at a .179 clip, the team's best hitting percentage in six matches. NSU also had a sizeable advantage in overall kills (55-41), digs (59-45) and service aces (7-2), while Gardner-Webb held a 12-7 edge in blocks.
NSU fell behind early to start the match after a pair of Bulldog service aces, their only ones of the match, made it 4-1. Armstead then quickly turned things around by knocking down a kill and recording two straight services aces to tie it up at 4-4. Gardner-Webb, though, took the three-point lead right back and forced NSU to play catch up at that point forward.
Back-to-back kills by junior Jasmine Frazier and Knafel tied the score at 8-8, while Kessner and Morris did the same to again even the scoreboard at 12-12. Knafel, Kessner and Frazier all landed kills to keep NSU close over the mid-portion of the set. After a service ace by freshman Noelle Eagles ended a 5-1 run for NSU, eliminated a three-point Bulldog lead, and got the Spartans ahead, 21-20, Gardner-Webb called a timeout to save the set.
Down 23-22 a short time later after an attack error by Molly Rhyne, the Bulldogs then took the last three points of the set, including the last two on blocks off attacks by redshirt sophomore Paige Gary-Canty to take the 25-23 first set win. Morris got off to a hot start, landing five kills in the set, while Kessner (13 assists) and Knafel (seven digs) also got off to a hot start.
Knafel had a hand in two straight blocks for NSU that tied the score early in the second set, 3-3. Morris provided an offensive spark, posting four kills over the next several serves, with the last one erasing a Gardner-Webb lead and tying the score at 9-all.
That kill was the beginning of a 5-0 run for NSU that gave the Spartans a 13-9 lead, with Morris capping the run on a service ace. The Bulldogs got to within one several times, the last at 16-15, but two more kills by Morris during a 4-0 run put NSU on top, 20-15, forcing a Gardner-Webb timeout.
Morris helped NSU extend the lead to six at 22-16, and the Bulldogs got no closer than four as a pair of errors on their part ended the set, 25-19.
Morris had eight kills in the second set alone, while Kessner (13 assists) and Knafel (eight digs) kept their hot starts from the first set going.
The Spartans could not keep the momentum, at least not at first, as the third set got underway. Gardner-Webb jumped out to a 5-1 lead and stayed up by four at 9-5 following a NSU attack error, forcing the Spartans to call time.
NSU won the next three points to make it 9-8, then, with Gardner-Webb up 11-9, the Spartans essentially put the set out of reach with a 6-0 run that was part of a greater 11-1 run that made it 20-12. Armstead's service ace brought the run to a close, but Gardner-Webb was done in by numerous attack errors as the Bulldogs fell behind by eight.
From there, the Bulldogs made NSU sweat, going on a 5-0 run of their own to cut the lead to three at 20-17. Knafel and Morris gave the Spartans some breathing room with a pair of kills, and a short time later Knafel ended the set with a kill and a service ace for the final 25-18 margin. NSU hit a blistering .357 in the third set with just two attack errors.
Some back-and-forth action early on marked the start of the fourth set, as Gardner-Webb took a two-point lead at several intervals, the last at 8-6 off a NSU service error. The Spartans tied things up several times before Morris landed two straight kills to finally put NSU up at 11-10.
An attack error on Gardner-Webb put NSU up by two at 12-10, and from there neither team gained more than a one-point lead until a 5-0 lead by the Bulldogs gave them a 19-15 lead. Thanks to errors on Gardner-Webb's part, the Spartans came right back and tied it at 19-19.
NSU called a timeout after two straight attack errors, but the Bulldogs returned the favor with two attack errors of their own that tied the score at 21-21. The Bulldogs won the next point, but back-to-back kills by Morris and Armstead gave NSU the lead right back. Gary-Canty scored the last two points of the set on a pair of kills to give NSU the win, 25-23.
The Spartans will play a pair of matches Saturday against UNC Greensboro at 10:30 a.m. and Morgan State at 5 p.m.
