Upcoming Schedule
Sunday: Howard at NSU, 3 p.m., Joseph Echols Hall
Tuesday: VCU at NSU, 6 p.m., Joseph Echols Hall
Live Stats | Live Video
NORFOLK, Va. – After a huge win over William & Mary on Tuesday, the Norfolk State volleyball team will look to keep the momentum going, starting Sunday at home against Howard. Following that conference matchup, NSU will then host Virginia Commonwealth on Tuesday.
The matchup with the Bison on Sunday will commence at 3 p.m., while Tuesday's non-conference affair with VCU will get going at 6 p.m. Both matches will take place at Joseph Echols Hall.
Both live stats and live video will be available for the two contests.
NSU won its second straight after an 11-match losing streak, topping William & Mary for the first time in 12 tries on Tuesday in a 3-1 win. In the 11 previous meetings between the two schools, NSU won just one set combined during that time.
The Spartans now sit 4-16 overall, 1-1 in conference play after defeating Morgan State and coming up on the short end of a 3-0 score at Coppin State last weekend. Howard remains winless on the season at 0-13 overall, 0-2 in MEAC play leading up to their match on Friday at Hampton. VCU sits at 15-3 overall prior to its Saturday matchup with Charlotte.
NSU has never beaten Virginia Commonwealth in five tries, while Howard owns a 10-3 edge in the series with the Spartans as well.
Senior Charlotte Armstead led the way with 20 kills against William & Mary and bumped her team-leading average up to 3.14 kills per set on a .240 attack percentage. Senior Beatriz Ferreira added 16 kills on Tuesday and averages 2.38, with junior Coralie Jarema (1.57), freshman Jessica Johnson (1.56) and junior Goda Jankauskaite (1.48) also chipping in.
Sophomore Adriana Ramos took over the team lead with 0.30 service aces, while freshman Darcy Moore's 51-assist performance now has her at 8.65 assists per set.
Jankauskaite is tops on the team with 0.76 blocks, with Jarema second at 0.68. Ramos ranks second with 1.94 digs behind redshirt sophomore Noelle Eagles, who owns a team-leading 3.82 digs per set average.
Big Win
NSU's 3-1 win over William & Mary marked the first time the Spartans had defeated a current CAA opponent. Prior to the victory, NSU had been 0-19 against the likes of William & Mary (0-11), James Madison (0-5), UNC Wilmington (0-2) and Georgia State (0-1). Virginia Commonwealth was in the CAA as well up through last season.
1st to 1,000
Armstead's 20-kill performance against William & Mary put her over 1,000 kills for her career. After taking over first place all-time at NSU in kills last month, Armstead also became the first Spartan player to top 1,000 for her career.
Moore's Breakout Performance
Moore had 51 assists against William & Mary, just four off the NSU record of 55 set by Afreya Allen in 2003. Moore's total is the fifth-highest ever by an NSU player, with three of those four performances above hers occurring in a five-set match. Only Solange Honore's 53-assist total against Winston-Salem State in 2006 ranks higher than Moore's 51-assist performance as far as assists in a four-set match.
More Record Chasing
Eagles is now just 121 digs away from taking over first place in career digs at NSU, held by Kim Mumford with 869. Moore is also on pace to potentially top Nicole Kessner's single-season assist mark of 877 as well.
MEAC Rankings
Eagles now sits fourth in the conference in digs (3.82), while Moore ranks fifth in assists (8.65). Armstead finds her name in the top 10 in the MEAC in kills (eighth, 3.14), points (eighth, 3.53) and hitting percentage (ninth, .240).
As a team, NSU ranks fourth in assists (10.25) and kills (11.18), seventh in hitting percentage (.137) and service aces (1.42), eighth in opponent hitting percentage (.245) and digs (11.63), and ninth in blocks (1.46).
About Howard
In their first 12 matches, the Bison won just one set overall before winning the first two sets against UMES Sept. 30. The defending MEAC champion Hawks, though, kept Howard winless on the season by rallying to win the last three sets.
Meagan Lagerlef has tallied a team-leading 1.86 kills per set, with production also coming from Assata Conway (1.45) and Stephanie Shultis (1.21). Lagerlef also leads the Bison with 0.24 service aces, while Shultis has a team-high 4.40 assists. Jasmine Tipton averages 2.88 digs, while Destinee Harrison has contributed 0.53 blocks.
About VCU
The Rams have come up short just three times this year, against USF, Duquesne and Fordham. Duquesne is the only common opponent between VCU and NSU, with the Rams suffering a 3-1 loss and NSU dropping a 3-0 contest to Duquesne. VCU owns wins over Virginia and North Carolina State among its 15 victories.
Four players average better than 2.0 kills per set, led by Kristin Boyd at 2.80. Martina Samadan (2.31), Anett Farkas (2.29) and Romana Kriskova (2.14) also provide offense, while Cecilia Aragao has a team-leading 9.89 assists. Samadan is tops on the team with 1.47 blocks, while Janelle Sykes (1.40) and Jasmine Waters (1.11) also average better than a block per set. Amanda Love leads the Rams with 3.60 digs.
Up Next
Following these next two home contests, NSU will be back on the road next weekend at Delaware State on Oct. 12 and at UMES Oct. 14.
