Weekend Schedule
Friday: at Maryland Eastern Shore, 7 p.m.
Sunday: at Delaware State, 3 p.m.
Live Stats (Delaware State match only)
Live Audio (Maryland Eastern Shore match only)
Live Video (Maryland Eastern Shore match only)
NORFOLK, Va. – With the last weekend of the regular season on tap for the Norfolk State volleyball team, the Spartans will soon find out their fate when it comes to the MEAC tournament as NSU attempts to hold off Howard in the standings for the last tournament berth.
NSU, sitting at 5-5 in conference play, will match-up against UMES Friday at 7 p.m. and then complete the regular season Sunday at 3 p.m. at Delaware State. Howard, at 4-6, plays at Morgan State and at Coppin State this weekend.
Live audio and live video will be available for the match against UMES, while live stats will be provided for the match at Delaware State.
A pair of wins this weekend would give NSU a bid outright, as would NSU and Howard going 1-1. If the Bison upset Morgan State and defeat Coppin State to go 2-0 and NSU goes 1-1, Howard would own the tiebreaker only if Hampton goes 1-1. The Pirates play at Delaware State and UMES this weekend.
If Howard does a 1-1 split on the weekend, the Bison would need NSU to drop both matches to force a tiebreaker, which Howard would still own unless its one win came against Morgan State and again, if Hampton wins twice. Delaware State could also sneak in if both NSU and Howard lose twice and the Hornets defeat both NSU and Hampton.
To get to the tournament, NSU will rely upon juniors Charlotte Armstead and Beatriz Ferreira, who have tallied 2.89 and 2.80 kills per set, respectively. Freshman Adriana Ramos also provides offensive punch with 2.31 kills, and senior Jasmine Frazier chips in with 1.67 kills and a team-leading 0.29 service aces. Junior Kristen Burt has posted 8.78 assists per set.
On the defensive side, senior Tracey Copley tallies 2.96 digs per set, while Ramos (1.92) and Burt (1.85) also give the Spartans a lift. Armstead ranks as the team's top blocker with 0.80 blocks per set, with Frazier second in total blocks. Juniors Megan Lavo (1.53 digs) and Paige Gary-Canty (1.52 digs), also play a key role in NSU's team defense along with freshman Jasmin Flowers (0.57 blocks).
MEAC Rankings
Armstead and Ferreira rank 8-9 in the conference in kills per set with 2.89 and 2.80, respectively, while Armstead also ranks fifth in both hitting percentage (.266) and blocks (0.80) and eighth in points per set (3.54). Burt stands fourth in the league in assists (8.78), while Copley has moved up to eighth in digs (2.96).
As a team, NSU ranks second in the league in digs (12.84 per set) and opponent hitting percentage (.182), fourth in blocks (1.58) and kills (11.52), fifth in assists (10.42), sixth in service aces (1.38) and eighth in hitting percentage (.146).
Career Watch
Armstead needs 20 kills to move into a tie for third all-time at NSU, while Burt is set to become just the sixth player ever to record 1,000 assists, as she needs 39 more to reach that mark. Armstead also needs just 22 blocks to move into a tie for first place all-time in that category as well.
About UMES
The Hawks own the top record in the entire conference at 10-0, part of a 19-6 campaign so far this year. UMES has won 14 in a row dating back to Sept. 24 and 17 of its last 19. In the 10 conference games, the Hawks have dropped just three sets.
Saitaua Iosia will almost certainly be honored as the league's top freshman, as she averages 4.10 kills and 0.41 service aces per set. She is joined on the offensive end by Maline Vaitai and Kaveinga Lea'Aetoa with 2.78 and 2.14 kills, respectively. Jessica Vicic leads the league with 10.57 assists, while Rebecca Prado owns a team-best 3.26 digs per set. Ndidi Ibe and Lea'Aetoa pace the team in blocks with 0.92 and 0.88, respectively.
About Delaware State
The Hornets stand 3-7 in conference play and 4-19 overall, but have lost seven of their past eight matches, with the only win during that time a 3-2 victory over last place Coppin State.
Jessica Russell-Croucher leads the way with 2.64 kills and 0.33 service aces per set, with Laisha Davis second on the team in totals kills at 123. Christobel Fakaosi has tallied 7.40 assists to pace the offense. Sonja Banicevic was near the top of the MEAC in digs per set at 4.08 until injury derailed her season, and right now Russell-Croucher owns the top mark on the team with 2.01 digs. Davis and Brooke Redmon total 0.56 and 0.54 blocks per set, respectively.
Up Next
Should NSU advance to the MEAC tournament, the Spartans would play in the first round on Nov. 18. As the No. 4 seed in the Northern Division, NSU would play at 4 p.m. NSU could also play at 10 a.m. as the No. 3 seed.
