Live Stats (UMES) | Live Stats (Coppin State) | Live Audio/Video
NORFOLK, Va. – With the conference season right around the corner, the Norfolk State volleyball team will get one last tune-up before the start of MEAC play against UMES and Coppin State Saturday in the Peaky's North/South UMES Hawk Invitational.
The Spartans will face Coppin State at 2 p.m. and then UMES at 5 p.m. NSU will begin the conference portion of its schedule Monday against Florida A&M at home.
UMES will have free live video for the entire tournament and live audio for the UMES-NSU match, and both can be accessed here (the audio is separate from video). In addition, the Hawks will provide live stats for the UMES-NSU match here and the Coppin State-NSU match here.
The team enters the weekend with a 5-11 record after dropping a 3-1 decision to Davidson and suffering a 3-2 loss to Delaware State Saturday at Joseph Echols Hall in the Spartan Invitational.
Offensive production continues to come from a variety of spots, with freshman Arielle Knafel and sophomore Charlotte Armstead leading the way at 2.50 ad 2.25 kills per set, respectively. Redshirt sophomore Paige Gary-Canty (1.80), sophomore Ellica Morris (1.74) and junior Jasmine Frazier (1.65) also have added to the attack. Junior Nicole Kessner, at 7.62 assists per set, has been the offensive director on the floor.
The defensive effort is led by freshman Noelle Eagles with 3.92 digs per set, with Knafel and Gary-Canty sitting second and third on the team with 3.26 and 2.22 digs per set, respectively. Armstead (0.57 blocks) and Frazier (0.55) provided the at-the-net defense.
Freshman Phenom
For the second time this season, Eagles was named the MEAC Rookie of the Week, as she shared the honor on Monday with UMES' Kaveingna Lea'Aetoa. The award came on the heels of Eagles' 30-dig performance against Delaware State Saturday, tying the school record she set in the first weekend of play, which also led to her first Rookie of the Week award on Aug. 30. April Johnson's previous school record of 29 digs had stood for nearly 14 years – Oct. 23, 1996 to be exact – but has been equaled twice by Eagles so far this year.
Career Day
Armstead had 19 kills against the Hornets Saturday to top her previous career high of 15 set last year. She also had six blocks, a feat she has now accomplished three times at NSU. With 327 career kills, Armstead moved into 14th on the all-time NSU list last weekend and is just 61 away from moving into the top 10.
MEAC Team Comparison
NSU still ranks in the top 3 in the MEAC in several categories. The Spartans sit second in opponent hitting percentage (.194) and assists (9.98 per set) and third in kills (10.85), service aces (1.43) and digs (13.48).
About Coppin State
The Eagles have limped to a 1-12 record so far this year, with the lone win coming against LaSalle on Sept. 21. The team most recently fell to Navy, 3-0, on Tuesday.
Ashley Saunders provides the main offensive punch with 2.17 kills per set while ranking second on the team in digs at 2.83. Tyler Phillips leads the way with 3.05 digs, and Alexandria Malesick has a team-best 0.64 blocks per set while standing second on the team with 1.48 kills. Haley Beechler is the team's main setter with 5.37 assists.
As their record would indicate, Coppin State trails opponents in kills (12.0-7.7), attack percentage (.239-.045), service aces (2.2-1.4) and digs (15.5-13.0), and is tied in blocks (1.3 per set).
About UMES
Like Delaware State, UMES should give the Spartans a good chance to gage where they are at as a program, especially against an 8-9 team picked to finish atop the MEAC Northern Division.
Maline Vaitai and Zoe Bowens pace the offense with 3.03 and 2.91 kills per set, respectively, while Kaveigna Lea'Aetoa (2.48) and Samantha Chukwura (2.27) also provide a big offensive lift. Rebecca Prado ranks first with 2.10 digs per set, while Lea'Aetoa has a team-best 0.63 blocks. At 8.32 assists per set, Stephanie Sierra enters the match second in the MEAC in assists.
Opponents have the edge in attack percentage (.206-.195) and blocks (1.8-1.3), but the Hawks lead in kills (11.0-10.4), service aces (1.9-1.6) and digs (9.8-9.5).
Up Next
The Spartans get little rest as nine-time defending MEAC Champion Florida A&M comes to Echols Hall Monday at 6 p.m.
