Box Score

BALTIMORE, Md. – Juniors Charlotte Armstead and Beatriz Ferreira combined for 25 kills to lead the Norfolk State volleyball team to a 3-0 victory over Coppin State on Sunday at the Physical Education Complex. The Spartans swept the season series from the Eagles with the win and kept alive their MEAC tournament hopes.

A competitive match eventually fell in favor of the Spartans, who won, 25-21, 25-21, 25-20. The victory put NSU at 8-13 overall, 4-5 in conference play. The Spartans stayed within a game of Hampton, which fell to 5-4 on Sunday following its 3-2 loss to Morgan State, and a half game behind Howard, which sits at 4-4. Coppin State saw its record drop to 5-20, 1-8 in the MEAC.

Ferreira led the Spartans with 13 kills, while Armstead added 12, and the duo combined to hit .455 for the match. NSU hit .304 overall, compared to .177 for the Eagles.

Junior Kristen Burt led all players with 30 assists and had a team-high six digs to go along with five kills, while junior Megan Lavo and senior Tracey Copley each added five digs. Armstead posted a match-high four blocks.

Coppin State was led by Ariel Richard with 14 kills and seven digs and Salena Weekly with eight kills. Krisine Bindule posted 27 assists, and Gabrielle Otero had a match-high 10 digs. As a team, Coppin State had a 28-27 edge in digs over the Spartans, while NSU recorded six blocks to just three for the Eagles.

Two attack errors on the Spartans allowed Coppin State to take a 5-3 lead to start the match, and then two errors on Richard tied it right back up at 8-8. Down 11-10, NSU broke the set open with an 8-0 run, which included two service aces from senior Jasmine Frazier, for an 18-11 lead. Coppin State twice won three straight points to cut the deficit back to three, 20-17, but two more kills from Ferreira put NSU over the top in its 25-21 win.

The Eagles took a quick 4-0 lead in the second set and stretched it to 9-4 before NSU made its comeback. A 4-0 run, capped by a service aces from Ferreira, cut it to one, 9-8. A pair of kills from Richard helped Coppin State to a 15-11 lead, but four kills from Ferreira during a short period of time again got NSU to within one, 18-17. A 5-0 run, began by a Frazier kill and ended by a service ace from the middle blocker, gave the Spartans a 22-19 lead, and kills from Armstead and junior Maatra Henderson allowed NSU to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

After a block from Frazier put NSU up by a 5-3 score in the third set, Coppin State earned the lead back at 7-6 before a 6-1 run, sparked by two kills and a block from Armstead, made it 12-8 in favor of NSU. The Eagles did not go quietly, eventually earning the lead back at 16-15 on an extended 8-3 run. Two more kills from Armstead tied the score each time, and after a service error on NSU again tied it at 20-20, the Spartans scored the last five points of the set for the match win. Frazier, Armstead and freshman Adriana Ramos each had four kills in the last stanza.

NSU will finish up non-conference play at James Madison Wednesday at 6 p.m. before returning home Friday for Senior Night against Howard at 6.