Tennessee State Box Score | Troy Box Score

MACON, Ga. – The Norfolk State volleyball team opened up the 2011 season with a pair of losses at the Mercer Bear Brawl Friday afternoon, falling to Tennessee State, 3-0, and to Troy, 3-0, at Mercer's University Center gym.

Tennessee State (3-1) attacked at a .215 clip in a 25-16, 25-23, 25-14 sweep of the Spartans, while Troy (4-2) forced 30 NSU attack errors in 25-20, 25-16, 25-19 three-set victory in the very next match on the day.

Junior Charlotte Armstead got her season off on a strong note, tallying 11 kills against the Tigers and then 12 against the Trojans. Junior Kristen Burt totaled 51 assists and 16 digs on the day, and sophomore Noelle Eagles posted 26 digs, including 20 in the match versus Troy.

Freshman Adriana Ramos added seven kills in the first match, while senior Jasmine Frazier knocked down eight in the second match. The Spartans hit .055 against the Tigers and .040 versus the Trojans. Both Tennessee State (6-3) and Troy (9-2) held the advantage in blocks.

Tennessee State jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first set and stretched it to 11-3, but NSU came back later in the set, getting to within two at 17-15 on a Tiger attack error. Tennessee State, though, scored the next six points for a 23-15 lead and went on to win the first set, 25-16.

An attack error on the Tigers put the Spartans up by a 10-8 score in the second set, forcing a Tennessee State timeout. The Tigers took the lead back at 12-11, but a pair of Tiger attack errors gave the Spartans the lead back at 14-12. Four straight points by the Tigers gave them the lead for good, but NSU kept right with its opponent, eventually tying it up at 23-23 on a Frazier service ace. Back-to-back Tiger kills on the next two serves, though, gave Tennessee State the 25-23 win.

The Tigers took a 5-2 lead in the third set, and then up by 8-6, Tennessee State won eight of the next nine points for a 16-7 lead. Junior Ashley Scott threw down a kill and aided in a block on the next play, but NSU was unable to string together two straight points for the rest of the set as the Tigers went on to win the match with a 25-14 third-set score.

Shaquita Williams led Tennessee State with 13 kills and three blocks, while Erika Moss handed out 27 assists.

NSU turned right back around and faced Troy in the next match, and an early 6-6 tie was eventually turned into an 11-10 lead for NSU on a kill by Ramos. After the Trojans pulled ahead, 15-12, a kill by junior Paige Gary-Canty got the Spartans to within one, 16-15. The Trojans scored the next six points and then held off the Spartans for a 25-20 first-set win.

The Trojans opened a 6-1 lead in the second set, but kills by Gary-Canty and junior Beatriz Ferreira during a 4-0 run cut the deficit to one, 7-6. NSU got to within one again at 16-15 on a pair of kills by Armstead and one off the hands of Ferreira. A 9-1 run by Troy closed out the set with the Trojans on top, 25-16.

Back-to-back kills by Ramos put NSU up by a 6-5 score in the third set, which Troy quickly turned into an 11-7 lead. Two straight kills by Frazier and another from Armstead made it 15-12 in favor of the Trojans, but after the two teams traded points over the next several serves, Troy went up by a 22-16 score and went on to win the third and final set, 25-19.

Breanna Cullity led Troy with nine kills, and Alexandra Alexander totaled 28 assists. Courtney Cohen had a team-high 17 digs.

NSU will shoot for its first win of the season Saturday against host Mercer at 3 p.m.