Weekend Schedule
Friday: vs. Delaware State, 7 p.m.
Sunday: vs. UMES, 3 p.m.
Live Stats
Live Video
NORFOLK, Va. – The color pink will be everything this weekend in Joseph Echols Hall as the Norfolk State volleyball team hosts Pink Weekend to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The Spartans will don their pink jerseys against Delaware State Friday at 7 p.m. in Echols, followed by a matchup against Northern Division leader UMES on Sunday at 3 p.m.
NSU will wrap up a six-match homestand this weekend against a pair of formidable conference opponents, as the Spartans have not been on the road since Sept. 24. The team will play six of its last eight matches of the regular season on the road after Sunday.
Fans who cannot make it out to Echols can follow along with the live stats feed as well as the live video feed. Cost of the video feed is $5 per match, and passes must be purchased the day of the contest.
NSU comes into the weekend sporting a 5-10 record, including 1-2 in the MEAC. UMES sits atop the standings with a 3-0 record, including 12-6 overall, while Delaware State is third behind Hampton with a 2-2 record, but just 3-13 overall.
Last Sunday, junior Charlotte Armstead had a big day with 17 kills and six blocks, and leads the Spartans on the season with 2.98 kills and 0.70 blocks per set. Junior Beatriz Ferreira ranks second with 2.67 kills, while freshman Adriana Ramos sits third with 2.28.
Junior Kristen Burt paces the offense with 9.00 assists per set and also stands second with 2.11 digs. Senior libero Tracey Copley leads all players with 2.81 digs. Senior Jasmine Frazier has chipped in with 1.83 kills, 0.52 blocks and a team-leading 0.30 service aces.
MEAC Standings
Hampton shares the division lead with UMES at 3-0, while NSU, Morgan State and Howard rank behind Delaware State at 1-2 in North Division play. Coppin State owns a 1-4 conference record so far this year.
In the Southern Division, South Carolina State continues to lead the way at 3-0, followed by Bethune-Cookman at 3-1 and Florida A&M at 2-1.
Career Watch
Armstead needs three more block assists to tie the school record of 133 set by Chanel Barnes from 2003-06. She has also moved up to seventh all-time in total blocks, and should reach the school record of 219 sometime early next season. Armstead has also moved into fifth place all-time in kills and should reach that school record as well next season.
MEAC Rankings
Burt stands third in the MEAC in assists per set (9.00), while Armstead ranks sixth in the conference in both kills (2.98) and points (3.47) and fourth in attack percentage (.256). Copley also sits in the top 10 in the league, ranking ninth in digs (2.81).
As a team, NSU ranks first in the league in digs at 13.93, with Hampton ranking second at 12.95. The Spartans also sit second in the league in opponent hitting percentage at .176, third in both kills (11.80) and assists (10.76), sixth in hitting percentage (.144) and blocks (1.52) and eighth in service aces (1.20) out of 13 teams in the MEAC.
Howard Highlights
Check out some highlights from NSU's tough 3-2 loss to Howard last Sunday on the YouTube page for NSU athletics.
About Delaware State
Along with a win over Quinnipiac, Delaware State has also beaten Howard and Morgan State by 3-2 scores, while also dropping a 3-0 match against UMES. In their most recent competition, though, last Sunday, Coppin State picked up its first conference win of the season with a 3-2 win over the Hornets in Baltimore.
The Hornets have been led offensively by Jessica Russell-Croucher, who tallies 2.93 kills per set and 0.37 service aces. Theresa Schieder (1.77 kills) and Edarkis Branch (1.62) also provide some offensive punch. Sonja Banicevic leads the league with 4.05 digs, and Brooke Redmon and Laisha Davis contribute 0.48 and 0.41 blocks per set, respectively. Christobel Fakaosi is the team's primary setter with 7.63 assists.
About UMES
The Hawks have won seven in a row and 10 of their last 12 and will play at Hampton on Friday looking to improve on their 12-6 overall record. UMES did fall to Bethune-Cookman in the first match of the season, but the Hawks also own a 3-2 win over BIG EAST program South Florida.
Saitaua Iosia has been the leader on the court in just her first collegiate season, tallying 4.03 kills. Maline Vaitai, with 2.74 kills, and Kaveinga Lea'Aetoa, with 2.06 kills, give UMES plenty of options. Jessica Vicic leads the league with 10.40 assists, and Iosia also has a team-leading 0.44 service aces. As a team, UMES hits a league-leading .231. Rebecca Prado tops the team with 3.60 digs, and Lea'Aetoa and Ndidi Ibe average 0.93 and 0.90 blocks per set, respectively.
Up Next
NSU will hit the road next weekend, heading across the bay to Hampton Oct. 21 at 6 p.m., and then going to Morgan State Oct. 23 for a match at 3 p.m.
