Box Score NORFOLK, Va. – Coming out firing on all cylinders, the Norfolk State volleyball team avenged a loss to Hampton earlier this season with a solid 3-0 victory over the Pirates Friday night at Joseph Echols Hall in the first of two Battles of the Bay this weekend.

The Spartans hit a very respectable .281 and played solid defense, keeping a powerful Hampton attack from pulling away most of the night. More importantly, the victory moved NSU into a tie with the Pirates in the MEAC Northern Division standings at 4-2.

NSU improved to 8-18 overall after winning, 25-19, 25-20, 29-27. The loss dropped Hampton to 13-12 overall.

After the Pirates were victorious by a 3-2 score on Sept. 22 in the Spartan Invitational, the two teams will play this season's rubber match Sunday at 3 p.m. at Hampton.

The Spartans posted 51 digs and seven blocks, easily topping their normal production per set. Redshirt sophomore Noelle Eagles had 18 of those digs, while sophomore Jasmin Flowers had a hand in six of the team's seven blocks.

Senior Charlotte Armstead and freshman Jessica Johnson each posted a team-high 11 kills, while senior Beatriz Ferreira added nine.

Vendula Strakova and Krista Kraskura led Hampton with 15 and 12 kills, respectively. Kraskura also had a team-high 17 digs.

Armstead got the Spartans off on the right foot with a pair of kills early in the match. Hampton used a 4-0 run to take a three-point lead, but a pair of kills from junior Coralie Jarema helped NSU chip away at the lead. Down 14-13, a kill from Ferreira sparked a 4-0 run and a longer 7-1 stretch for a five-point lead. Hampton got to within three before a kill from junior Goda Jankauskaite and a service ace from Johnson finished things in the first set.

A pair of service aces from freshman Darcy Moore capped an 8-2 run to start the second. Hampton ran off four straight points before an Eagles service ace made it 12-7. After Hampton cut the deficit to two, though, sophomore Adriana Ramos served six straight times for a big 22-14 advantage. The Pirates made NSU sweat a little after tallying four straight points to get to 24-20, but Ferreira's kill ended that Hampton threat.

A pair of kills from Armstead and a service ace by Janksauskaite had NSU in control by a 7-4 score in the third.  Hampton tied it up, but the Spartans came back and took a two-point lead. Hampton called timeout down 16-13, and NSU looked to be in control again after a Pirate service error made it 20-17.

Hampton, though, got a pair of key blocks to cap a 6-2 run and go up by one, 23-22. A couple of serves later, Ferreira held off set point with a kill, and Armstead did so twice a little later. The last one of those kills tied the score at 27-27, and Johnson then put a cap on the night with back-to-back kills for the final scoring margin.

Johnson nearly completed the double-double with nine digs. Moore added 18 assists, eight digs and three service aces on the night, while senior setter Nicole Kessner posted 21 assists.

NSU will make the return trip to Hampton on Sunday at 3 p.m. at Holland Hall.