Box Score WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Norfolk State volleyball team won its fifth straight match as well as its ninth in the last 11 contests with a 3-1 victory over Howard Friday night at Burr Gymnasium.

The win secured NSU's berth in the MEAC tournament and kept the Spartans in second place in the MEAC Northern Division at 7-2. NSU also ran its overall record to 11-18 after defeating the Bison, 25-23, 20-25, 25-16, 25-21.

The Spartans have now won five in a row for the first time since the start of the 1996 season and the first time in the Division I era. They are also now guaranteed just their second winning season in the MEAC in 16 years. Howard, on the other hand, remained winless on the year at 0-21 overall, 0-9 in the conference.

NSU got the win despite having a subpar game on the offensive side of the net. The Spartans hit just .074 for the match, with 31 attack errors, although they did hold Howard to a .107 attack percentage. Senior Charlotte Armstead was the only player from either team to reach double figures in kills with 10.

Senior Beatriz Ferreira had eight kills, while redshirt sophomore Noelle Eagles had another solid match with 21 digs.

The Bison started off the match winning four of the first five points, and NSU had to call timeout when Howard went up by four, 10-6. The Spartans chipped away at the deficit and got to one, 12-11, but the Bison continued to match NSU point-for-point as the set wore on. Kills from several different players, though, late in the set helped the Spartans turn the tide.

Neither team was able to get a run going in the second set until Howard turned a 9-8 deficit into a 16-9 advantage. Even with a pair of 3-0 runs a little later, the Spartans got no closer than four at 20-16 before the Bison won five of the last six points of the set.

A pair of kills from Armstead and freshman Jessica Johnson gave NSU a 9-2 lead in the third. The Bison cut the advantage to three, 12-9, before a few more Spartan kills completed a 6-2 run that put NSU up by seven. After the Spartans called timeout when Howard made it 20-15, NSU then won five of the last six points of the set.

Howard then looked like it was going to pull away in the fourth set, building the lead into a five- and six-point range before the Spartans began to make their comeback. NSU had four straight kills at one point, the last two from Armstead, to tie the score. The Spartans eventually went up by four, 18-14, but later in the set the Bison won four straight to go up by one, 22-21.

After the teams traded points, Ferreira knocked down a kill and an error on Howard setter Stephanie Shultis handed NSU the win.

Assata Conway led the Bison with eight kills and six blocks. Howard had a 9-5 advantage in blocks.

NSU will finish out the regular season with three straight at home, beginning next Wednesday against Coppin State at 6 p.m. at Echols Hall.