This Weekend
Friday: Morgan State at NSU, 6 p.m., Echols Hall (Breast Cancer Awareness Night)
Sunday: Coppin State at NSU, 3 p.m., Echols Hall
Live Stats | Live Video
NORFOLK, Va. – Joseph Echols Hall will be awash in pink this weekend as the Norfolk State volleyball team will host its Breast Cancer Awareness Night while looking to put some distance between it and the middle pack of the MEAC Northern Division.
The Spartans will welcome Morgan State to Echols Hall on Friday at 6 p.m. for the official night of breast cancer activities, followed by a Sunday afternoon contest against Coppin State at 3. Sitting in second in the North at 5-2, the Spartans aim to further separate themselves from both the Bears (3-4) and the Eagles (4-3), the latter of whom are tied with Hampton for third in the division.
Both live stats and a live video feed will be available for the matches this weekend.
NSU comes in with a 9-18 overall record, having won seven of the last nine matches of the season. Coppin State owns a 9-10 record, while Morgan State carries a 4-17 mark. Earlier in the season in Baltimore, NSU fell to Coppin State by a 3-0 score on Sept. 28 but rebounded to defeat Morgan State, 3-0, on Sept. 30.
Senior Charlotte Armstead topped 300 kills for the season on Sunday against Hampton to bump her average up to 3.10 kills per set. Senior Beatriz Ferreira still ranks second on the team (2.05), while freshman Jessica Johnson is a close third at 1.95. Senior Goda Jankauskaite ranks fourth with 1.56 but is first in hitting percentage at .270.
Johnson also ranks first with 0.34 service aces, just ahead of sophomore Adriana Ramos (0.30). After missing the first half of the season due to injury, senior Nicole Kessner now splits time at setter with freshman Darcy Moore. Kessner averaged 4.33 assists per set, while Moore has posted 7.68 per set this year.
Ramos and Johnson rank second and third, respectively, on the team with 1.81 and 1.62 digs behind team leader redshirt sophomore Noelle Eagles, who averages 3.99 per set. Jankauskaite continues to lead the way in blocking with 0.80 blocks per set. Junior Coralie Jarema is second at 0.69.
Johnson Named MEAC Rookie of the Week
After leading the Spartans to a 3-0 record last week, Johnson was named the MEAC Rookie of the Week on Monday. She averaged 3.36 kills, 3.00 digs and 0.55 service aces per set in becoming the second NSU freshman to earn the honor. Moore was tabbed the rookie of the week on Oct. 8.
Another Career Mark About to Fall
With 865 digs, Eagles needs just four more to tie Kim Mumford's all-time NSU record of 869 set from 1992-95.
Two More Records
Having passed just about everyone else in the record book, Armstead is now poised to pass herself. With 304 kills on the year, she needs just 24 more to tie her single-season mark of 328 set in 2010.
Also in season annals, Jankauskaite needs eight more block assists to tie Karina Moore's NSU record of 69 set in 2005.
Catching Fire
With seven wins in their last nine matches, the Spartans have done something they've never done in the Division I era. The last time NSU had seven wins with two or fewer losses in between came in 1996, the team's last year in D-II. The Spartans went 7-2 during a late-season stretch that year.
MEAC Leaderboard
Eagles is the only NSU player to rank in the top 5 in the league, as she sits third in digs with 3.99 per set. Jankauskaite ranks seventh in hitting percentage (.270), while sophomore Jasmin Flowers is 10th (.244). Moore stands seventh in assists (7.68), while Armstead is ninth in kills (3.10) and 10th in points (3.43).
In team stats, NSU ranks fourth in assists (10.44) and kills (11.48), fifth in hitting percentage (.161) and opponent hitting percentage (.230), sixth in blocks (1.63) and service aces (1.54) and seventh in digs (11.89).
About Coppin State
With nine wins on the year, the Eagles have more victories than any other season in program history. They got there after defeating Bethune-Cookman, 3-1, last Sunday. Coppin State has split with Morgan State this year and also owns wins over Delaware State and Howard while falling to Hampton and UMES in conference play.
Ariel Richard leads the way with 3.34 kills per set, with Cindy Okpegbue (2.45) and Bianca Chatman (1.78) also chipping in. Denali Sturgeon and Richard rank 1-2 with 0.38 and 0.32 service aces per set, while Chelsee Sauni directs the offense with 8.71 assists. With 4.53 digs per set, Gabrielle Otero has more than twice as many as the next closest player on the team, and Kandace Thomas and Kendra Ireigbe lead the frontcourt defense with 0.66 and 0.60 blocks, respectively.
About Morgan State
After going 0-16 to start the year, Morgan State has won three of its last four, including conference wins over Delaware State, Howard and Coppin State as well as a non-conference victory against Southern Division foe Bethune-Cookman on Monday.
Arianna Hayden leads the Bears offense with 2.55 kills per set, with Samantha Prescott and Janelle Wilson second and third with 1.84 and 1.64 kills, respectively. Ngebui Chafeh (5.95 assists) and Jourdan Lemons (3.86) have split time at setter. Wilson and Zuri Smith lead the way in blocks with 0.80 and 0.71 per set, respectively, while Tamara Leslie (2.51 digs) and Prescott (2.25) help anchor the backcourt defense.
Up Next
The Spartans will play their last regular season road match of the year at Howard on Nov. 2.
