Robert Morris/Duquesne Invitational
Friday: vs. Loyola (Md.), 11 a.m.; at Duquesne, 7 p.m.
Saturday: at Robert Morris, 11 a.m.; vs. Providence, 3 p.m.
Live Stats: Duquesne | Loyola, Robert Morris, Providence
Live Video: Duquesne | Robert Morris

NORFOLK, Va. – The second weekend of competition begins for the Norfolk State volleyball team on Friday, as the Spartans head to Pittsburgh to take part in the Robert Morris/Duquesne Invitational. NSU will face a pair of teams on Friday before following up with two more matches on Saturday, all within a span of 28 hours.

The tournament for NSU kicks off on Friday at 11 a.m. against Loyola (Md.) at Robert Morris' Charles L. Sewall Center. The Spartans will play at Duquesne at 7 p.m. Friday, and then turn around and take on Robert Morris at 11 a.m. Saturday. NSU finishes up later that day at 3 p.m. against Providence, also at the Sewall Center.

Live stats will be available for the match against Duquesne here, as well as for the other three matches through the Robert Morris athletics website here. In addition, a live video feed will be available for the matches against Duquesne and Robert Morris only.

NSU comes in holding a 1-2 record after the opening weekend at Navy last week, where the Spartans defeated the host Midshipmen but fell to Hartford and Nebraska-Omaha. Loyola stands 2-2 and Duquesne owns a 3-1 record, while Robert Morris and Providence arrive at the tournament with 0-3 and 1-4 marks, respectively.

Seniors Beatriz Ferreira and Charlotte Armstead led the way offensively for NSU last weekend, with Ferreira posting 3.00 kills per set and Armstead tallying 2.08 kills and 0.92 blocks. Freshman Jessica Johnson (1.92 kills) and junior Coralie Jarema (1.75 kills) also added to the attack.

Another freshman, Darcy Moore, made a big contribution, posting 8.75 assists per set. Redshirt sophomore Noelle Eagles and sophomore Adriana Ramos contributed 3.75 and 2.17 digs, respectively.

New Addition
NSU was not quite at full strength last week but will be closer to it this week after junior college transfer Goda Jankauskaite arrived on campus. The 6-2 middle blocker is a key piece of interim head coach Brandon Duvall's 2012 recruiting class, giving NSU a bigger presence at the net.

MEAC Leaderboard
Through the first weekend of action, several players found themselves on the MEAC statistical leaderboard. Moore ranks fourth in assists, while Ferreira stands fifth in kills. Also ranking fifth in the conference are Eagles in digs and Ramos and Jarema in service aces with 0.50 per set.

Overall, NSU ranks in the top five in the MEAC in opponent hitting percentage (second), assists and service aces (third), kills (fourth), and hitting percentage and blocks (fifth).

About Loyola (Md.)
The Greyhounds opened the year 2-2, defeating Central Connecticut State and St. Francis (Pa.) before falling to West Virginia at the Mountaineer Invitational. Earlier this week, Loyola dropped a 3-0 match at Towson to even their record on the season.

Prior to the match at Towson, Faye Lukas and Tina Catanach led the way with 3.09 and 2.27 kills per set, respectively. Lauren Andersen tallied 7.91 assists, while Kara Schiffer and Janet Pressler posted 3.55 and 2.55 digs per set. Jac Bullock and Mindy Maloney each added 0.64 blocks.

About Duquesne
The Dukes defeated New Mexico twice and also lost one time to the Lobos last weekend at the Lobo Classic. Duquesne also picked up a win over Southern while out in Albuquerque.

Four players, Sara Scheirman, Allison Foschia, Ashley Buse and Arielle Love average between 2.27 and 2.57 kills per set, with Mary Henry handing out 9.77 assists. Marah Farage leads the defense with 0.93 blocks, and Patti Abshire and Scheirman contribute 3.33 and 3.14 digs per set, respectively.

About Robert Morris
The Colonials dropped a trio of 3-0 matches last weekend at the Villanova Classic, falling to New Hampshire, Maryland and the host Wildcats to open up their 2012 campaign.

Offensively, Lindsey Monger posted 3.11 kills per set, with Erica Robb contributing 2.44 kills. Hannah Hoffman and Alex Deines split duties at setter, and on the defensive side, Melissa Bograd and Monger posted 4.11 and 3.44 digs, respectively. The Colonials only totaled six blocks in those three season-opening matches.

About Providence
At the Hofstra Invitational last weekend, Providence lost all four of its matches, to Hofstra, Marist, Fairleigh Dickinson and UC Riverside, and then defeated St. Peter's on Wednesday for the Friars' first victory of the season.

Mackenzie Ziegler totaled 3.11 kills, and Anna Russian tallied 2.56 to lead the Friar offense early on this year. Jordan Wiesler posted 8.78 assists, and Colleen McCollom added 0.67 service aces. Russian and Lindsay Watt are the stoppers up front with 0.83 and 0.72 blocks per set, respectively. Cassie Muzzonigro easily leads all players with 4.44 digs.

Up Next
NSU will host the Spartan Classic next weekend at Joseph Echols Hall, with Rutgers, UNC Wilmington and Stetson coming to town. The tournament kicks off next Friday at noon, with NSU scheduled to play its first match Friday at 7:30 p.m. against Stetson.