Box Score DOVER, Del. – After some early back and forth play, the Norfolk State volleyball team pulled away from Delaware State in a 3-1 victory Friday night at Memorial Hall.

Four different players had at least seven kills for the Spartans, who split the first two sets with the Hornets, 25-22, 25-27, before easing their way to 25-11, 25-17 victories in the final two sets. NSU improved to 3-1 in the conference and 6-17 overall, including wins in four of the past five contests.

Delaware State got plenty of offensive production from Jessica Croucher-Russell and Edarkis Branch, but it was not enough as the Hornets dropped to 4-13 overall, 1-4 in MEAC play.

The Spartans had their second-best hitting output of the year with a .281 attack percentage and were led by senior Charlotte Armstead and junior Goda Jankauskaite, who each tallied nine kills on the night. Freshman Jessica Johnson added eight kills with eight digs and four service aces, while senior Nicole Kessner posted 18 assists, seven kills on just nine attacks, and five service aces.

Branch had 13 kills and 10 digs for the Hornets, and Croucher-Russell contributed 12 kills and nine digs.

The Hornet duo hit back-to-back kills early in the match for an 8-6 lead. Jankauskaite had a pair of kills to give the Spartans the lead back, but Delaware State was able to keep the Spartans from pulling away. NSU took a two-point lead on several occasions and pushed the advantage to three at 20-17 after kills from Johnson and Kessner. The teams then went point for point the rest of the set with NSU coming out on top.

Branch had seven kills in the set, but the Spartans hit a sparkling .432.

The Hornets had a 5-2 lead to start the second set and went up by three again at 9-6 after a service ace from Jasmine Jackson. NSU tied it up at 9-9 and used a 6-0 run a little later to go up by five, 17-12. The Hornets turned it around with a 6-1 run and went up by one, 22-21, before the Spartans won the next three points. Croucher-Russell held off set point twice, and Brooke Redmon had a kill and block to help cap the DSU comeback.

Things were pretty even in the third set, with DSU grabbing a 5-3 lead before the Spartans took it back at 7-6 with a block from Johnson and redshirt sophomore Kylee Thiim. After Croucher-Russell and Laisha Davis blocked an NSU attack to tie it at 9-9, though, the wheels fell off for the Hornets.

Kessner had three service aces and Jankauskaite and sophomore Adriana Ramos each added two kills during an 11-0 run for NSU. Johnson then started a 4-0 run toward the end of the set, and Kessner ended it with a kill for the final 14-point margin.

A couple of 3-0 spurts, the last one finished off by a Johnson kill, gave the Spartans a 10-6 lead in the fourth set. Delaware State had to call timeout when a kill from senior Beatriz Ferreira pushed the Spartan advantage to six, 15-9. Kills from freshman Angie Darcus and Thiim twice gave NSU six-point leads, and another service ace from Kessner and a final kill from Ferreira sent the Spartans back to their hotel on a happy note.

Jankauskaite hit .421 for NSU and also added six blocks, while redshirt sophomore Noelle Eagles led the Spartans with 11 digs. Davis had seven blocks for the Hornets.

NSU will face first-place UMES Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Hawks' WP Hytche Athletic Center.