Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. – In the team's last non-conference match of the year, the Norfolk State volleyball team fell to James Madison, 3-0, Wednesday evening at Sinclair Gymnasium.

The Dukes earned the sweep by downing the Spartans, 25-14, 25-17, 25-19, as they ran their record to 18-8 on the year. NSU fell to 8-14 overall and will now look forward to Senior Night Friday against Howard.

NSU posted just 19 kills on the night, with junior Charlotte Armstead leading the way with six. Armstead also added three blocks and two service aces. Junior Kristen Burt had 13 assists, and senior Tracey Copley had a team-high seven digs. Senior Jasmine Frazier added three service aces.

The Dukes limited NSU to a -.063 attack percentage, as the Spartans committed 24 attack errors to just 11 for James Madison. The Dukes also held a slight edge in digs, 29-28, service aces, 8-7, and blocks, 8.5-6.0.

Eight different players recorded kills for the Dukes, led by Natalie Abel with nine and Kelly Maguire with seven kills and four blocks. Kristi Richardson tallied 34 assists and directed a James Madison offense that hit .341 for the match. Katie Daorai had a team-high nine digs, while Abel added eight.

After falling behind by a 4-3 score after a service ace from Frazier, James Madison started to pull ahead early in the first set. NSU called timeout after the Dukes went up by five, 10-5, with a 7-1 run, and then the Spartans got to within three at 11-8 on a service ace from Armstead. James Madison went on a 9-3 run to take a 20-11 lead. The Dukes received kills from four different players as the first set came to a close a short time later.

The Dukes held a 7-3 advantage following the start of the second set, but kills from Frazier and freshman Adriana Ramos allowed NSU to get back to within two points of the lead. A service ace from Ramos made it 10-9, and the Spartans stayed within two points of the Dukes over the next several serves. But after Frazier's kill made it 13-11 in favor of James Madison, the Dukes used a 6-1 run to break the set open, 19-12. Down 23-14, Ramos and Armstead each recorded kills before James Madison finished off the Spartans for a 2-0 match lead.

With the third set tied at 4-4, James Madison ran off six straight points for a 10-4 advantage. Errors on the Spartans allowed the Dukes to stretch their lead to eight, 15-7, which they then pushed into double digits at 20-9 following a 5-0 run. NSU, though, did not go quietly, as a service ace from junior Megan Lavo and an error on JMU ended a 5-0 run for NSU to make it 20-14. The Spartans added a pair of blocks to eventually get to 24-19 before the Dukes ended the match with a block of their own.

NSU will return to Echols Hall for Senior Night Friday with a 6 p.m. match against Howard.