NORFOLK, Va. – Behind the hitting prowess of junior Charlotte Armstead and the front-court defense of freshman Jasmin Flowers, Gold topped Green, 25-17, 23-25, 25-21, 25-23, Saturday afternoon in an intrasquad scrimmage at Joseph Echols Hall.

Armstead knocked down a match-high 14 kills, while Flowers tallied nine blocks to give interim head coach Brandon Duvall bragging rights leading into the last week of preseason practice. Flowers added five kills, while junior Chynna Blaker totaled eight and junior transfer Ashley Scott had six in front of a crowd of approximately 100 fans.

Junior college transfer Beatriz Ferreira had 11 kills for Green, while senior Jasmine Frazier totaled 10 kills and three blocks. Freshman Adriana Ramos added seven kills and three service aces, while junior Maatra Henderson added five kills.

Green took a 9-5 lead to open play in the first set, but a kill by Flowers capped an eventual 11-0 run to put Gold ahead by a 19-10 score. Blaker and Armstead knocked down back-to-back kills for a 23-14 lead, and Armstead finished things off with a kill to end the first set at 25-17.

A couple of Gold attack errors allowed Green to go ahead by a 7-3 score early in the second set, but a string of errors allowed Gold to tie the score at 14-14 a short time later. The two squads went back and forth from there, with neither gaining more than a one-point lead until Gold pulled ahead on a service ace by junior college transfer Megan Lavo and a kill by Armstead. Ramos, though, saved the set for Green, tallying three straight service aces for the 25-23 win.

Blaker's kill helped Gold take a 3-0 lead in the third set, and Scott got her hands on a pair of blocks for an 8-4 Gold lead. Several errors allowed Green to tie things up at 9-9, but Green was unable to take advantage and could not pull ahead as the set wore on. Kills by Armstead gave Gold a 20-17 lead and then a 22-19 edge. Flowers threw down a kill and teamed with junior Paige Gary-Canty for the block on the final point of the set, 25-21 in favor of Gold.

Green fought back to tie the fourth set at 5-5, and jumped out to a two-point lead, 11-9, on a block by Ramos and freshman Taylerlee Baird. A service ace off the hands of senior Tracey Copley gave Green a 16-12 lead, but back-to-back kills by Scott and Armstead tied the score at 19-19. Tied at 21-all a few serves later, Lavo laid down a service ace for a 23-21 Gold lead. A solo block by Baird tied it up at 23-23, but a pair of errors on Green gave Gold the win in the fourth and final set, 25-23.

In addition to Flowers' big day on defense, Scott and Gary-Canty each added four blocks for Gold, while Lavo posted three service aces.

The Spartans will open their season Friday at 7 p.m. against Hofstra at the Asics Invitational in Hempstead, N.Y.