Maddie Bingaman Memorial Tournament
Friday Schedule: vs. Fairleigh Dickinson, 4 p.m.
Saturday Schedule: vs. Youngstown State, 4 p.m.; vs. UMBC, 7 p.m.
Live Stats (All 3 Matches)
Live Video (All 3 Matches)
NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State volleyball team will look to get back on track during the second weekend of the season at the Maddie Bingaman Memorial Tournament at UMBC this Friday and Saturday.
NSU will face Fairleigh Dickinson Friday at 4 p.m. at the Retriever Activities Center, followed by Youngstown State Saturday at 4 p.m. and host UMBC at 7 p.m. Fans can follow all the action through UMBC's live stats page (same link for each match) as well as through the school's live video stream of each match. Cost is $5.95 per match, with play-by-play announcing accompanying the video stream.
The Spartans are looking for their first win of the season after dropping all three matches last weekend at the Mercer Bear Brawl to Tennessee State, Troy and the host Bears, all by a 3-0 score. Junior Charlotte Armstead picked up right where she left off last season, averaging 3.44 kills per set while hitting .144 in the first weekend of play.
Senior Jasmine Frazier tallied 2.44 kills on a .193 hitting percentage, while newcomers Beatriz Ferreira and Adriana Ramos each added 1.67 kills. Ferreira also had 0.56 blocks per set to lead the Spartans, while sophomore Noelle Eagles also had a strong weekend, posting 4.22 digs. Junior Kristen Burt handed out 8.00 assists to go along with 2.89 digs.
Leading the MEAC
Despite opening the year 0-3, the Spartans still find themselves leading the MEAC in assists (10.67) and digs (15.67, more than 2 digs more than the next best team), as well as second in kills (11.00) and opponent hitting percentage (.211).
Eagles stands second in the league in digs (4.22) behind Florida A&M's Karol Marquez, who leads the league with 4.38 digs per set. Armstead sits fourth in kills (3.44), while Burt ranks tied for fourth in assists (8.00).
Stronger Serving
After averaging 2.4 services errors per set last year, the Spartans got off to a strong start this season, posting just 1.3 errors per set.
About UMBC
The Retrievers stand 6-3 on the season with their most recent win coming against Navy, 3-0, on Tuesday. UMBC also beat MEAC schools Morgan State and Coppin State in the Battle of Baltimore last weekend.
Hannah Schmidt leads the way with 3.56 kills per set, while Hallie Carter (2.44 kills) and Ali Loynachan (2.12) also add to a UMBC attack that hits .218 as a team. Alexandria Spaay directs the offense with 9.56 assists and a team-leading 0.48 service aces. Ali Goc paces the way with 2.96 digs, while Katie Kelly leads a potent up-front defense with 1.12 blocks. The Terriers have outblocked their opponents, 2.26-1.44, this year.
About Fairleigh Dickinson
The Knights own a 4-2 record heading into a Wednesday evening match at LaSalle. The team is coming off a weekend sweep of Rider, Saint Peter's and Lafayette at the Lafayette Tournament. The star of the season has been workhorse Meaghan Wheeler, who leads the team with 5.57 kills per set, a mark that would have ranked second in the NCAA last year. Stats for the 2011 season have not been released yet.
Kelsey Semler has also performed well early on in the season, averaging 5.52 digs. Sarah Willey leads the way with 8.29 assists to go along with 2.57 digs, while Sarah Berkland averages a team-leading 0.86 blocks. Wheeler also ranks second on the team with 3.14 digs.
About Youngstown State
The Penguins are also searching for their first win of the season after starting off the year 0-8, including four losses of the 3-2 variety. Youngstown State fell to Eastern Michigan at home by a 3-1 score on Tuesday in the team's most recent action. Despite remaining winless, the Penguins have performed well compared to their opponents, averaging almost as many kills and having the slight edge in blocking (1.91-1.71) and service aces (1.38-1.32).
Missy Hundelt leads the team with 3.71 kills per set and contributes 2.18 digs, while Jackie Carlisle ranks second with 2.65 kills. Casey D'Ambrose averages 8.91 assists and a team-leading 0.29 service aces, and Erika West contributes 3.94 digs. Among regular players, Shannon Watson paces the team with 1.00 blocks.
Up Next
NSU will head to Davidson, N.C., for the Wildcat Classic at Davidson Sept. 16-17, with North Carolina A&T and Coastal Carolina set to join NSU and the host Wildcats for the tournament.
