Box Score BALTIMORE, Md. – Just a play away from advancing to its first-ever MEAC title match, the Norfolk State volleyball team instead saw its season come to a close Saturday afternoon in a stunning 3-2 loss to Florida A&M at the MEAC Championship.

NSU fought back after dropping the first set to the Rattlers, winning the second and third sets to pull ahead of FAMU in the match at Coppin State's Physical Education Complex. The Spartans had four different opportunities in the fourth set to come away with the victory, but the Rattlers survived each of those serves to win, 32-30.

Then in the fifth, the Spartans served match point two more times, but again FAMU struck back to stay alive. The Rattlers also won the last set in extra points, 17-15, to advance to the MEAC final Sunday against UMES. Florida A&M won the five-set thriller, 25-19, 23-25, 16-25, 32-30, 17-15.

The Spartans finished the 2012 campaign 14-20 overall, including a 9-3 conference slate. Both records stand as the best since NSU moved to Division I prior to the 1997 season.

NSU's all-time leader in kills put together one more sensational match, as senior Charlotte Armstead led the Spartans with 16 kills on a .343 attack percentage. She ended her career with 1,177 kills and as the only player with more than 1,000.

The Spartans also got a big match from sophomore Jasmin Flowers, who finished with 11 kills and nine block assists, just two off the single-match record of 11 set in 1997. NSU held a 13-5 edge in blocks over Florida A&M (14-9).

Also on Saturday, redshirt sophomore Noelle Eagles posted 19 digs to set the school's single-season mark, surpassing April Johnson's total of 449 set in 1996. Eagles, Armstead (kills and attacks), freshman Darcy Moore (assists) and junior Goda Jankauskaite (block assists) all finished with single-season records this year.

A two-time All-MEAC performer, including second-team honors this year, Armstead also finished as NSU's all-time leader in sets played (445), attacks (2,712), block assists (211) and total blocks (264) in addition to kills. Redshirt senior Nicole Kessner had 25 assists against Florida A&M and ender her career as the school's all-time leader with 2,424.

The Rattlers used just eight players throughout the game and got nearly all of its offensive production from the trio of Yeisha Arcia, Maria Ceccarelli and Pamela Barrera. Arcia led all players with 20 kills, while Ceccarelli and Barrera added 15 and 12, respectively. They combined for 47 of the team's 57 kills.

The Rattlers hit .155 for the match, compared to .208 for the Spartans.

NSU had its chances in the fourth set and got things going by taking a 10-6 lead on a rare kill from Eagles. Both junior Coralie Jarema and senior Beatriz Ferreira each had two kills during the early part of the set. The Rattlers countered with a 10-3 run to take a three-point lead, but the Rattlers later called timeout down 20-19 after a 4-0 Spartan run.

Tied at 22-22, the teams went back and forth the rest of the way. Freshman Jessica Johnson had a pair of kills, the latter to get the Spartans to within one of the win, 25-24. Florida A&M scored the next point and then the lead, but Jankauskaite and Armstead each threw down kills to keep the set alive. Jankauskaite's service ace put NSU up, 28-27, but Arcia later added a pair of kills to put the Rattlers back up by one and finished it with her ninth kill of the set to force the fifth.

The Rattlers won four of the first five points of that fifth set, but the Spartans tied it up at 4-all and then used a 5-1 run to go up by a 10-8 margin and force a Rattler timeout. After Florida A&M tied the score at 11-11, the teams began to trade serves. Flowers twice put down kills to move NSU to within one point of the win, but a kill from Arcia saved Florida A&M the first time before a pair of Spartan errors and a Ceccarelli kill ended the match.

Moore finished with 25 assists, while Johnson posted 13 digs and 11 kills. Ferreira chipped in with six kills and seven blocks. In addition to Armstead, Kessner and Ferreira, the match also marked the final contest for seniors Maatra Henderson and Kristen Burt.

The Spartans started the match off with a 6-2 lead, but FAMU quickly responded and forced a Spartan timeout at 9-8 in favor of the Rattlers. A 5-1 run from the Rattlers erased a two-point deficit, and a 6-1 run to close out the set put FAMU in the early lead in the match.

The Rattlers continued to show why they finished undefeated in league play, slowly extending their lead in the second set to five, 13-8. NSU then showed life, as a 4-0 run cut the deficit to one, 14-13. Several Rattler errors tied the set at 18-18, and after the teams traded the next seven serves, a block and a kill from Flowers put NSU up by two, 24-22. Two serves later, Ferreira's kill gave NSU the second set.

Down 6-4 in the third, the Spartans went on an 8-2 run, highlighted by a pair of service aces from Moore and a pair of kills from Johnson. NSU took a four-point lead at that point, and then up 17-14, the Spartans went on a 7-1 run to pull ahead by nine. Jarema's kill finished the set and put the Spartans up 2-1 in the match.

Jankauskaite finished with nine kills, four blocks and three service aces for NSU.

Karol Marquez had 29 digs for Florida A&M, and Diana Gonzales added 48 assists and seven digs.