Air Force/Colorado Invitational
Friday: vs. Washington State, 2 p.m. (EST)
at Air Force, 10 p.m.
Saturday: at Colorado, 5 p.m.
vs. CSU Bakersfield, 9 p.m.
Live Stats: Washington State | Air Force | Colorado/CSU Bakersfield
Live Video: Air Force | Colorado
NORFOLK, Va. – The competition level takes a big step up for the Norfolk State volleyball team this weekend as the Spartans will face two Pac-12 teams during the two-day Air Force/Colorado Invitational. Along with host Colorado, NSU will also compete against Pac-12 opponent Washington State, with the other host, Air Force, and CSU Bakersfield rounding out the schedule.
On Friday, NSU will tangle with Washington State at 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (Noon, Mountain Standard Time) and Air Force at 10 p.m. EST at Falcon Court at East Gym on the Air Force Academy campus located just north of Colorado Springs. Then on Saturday, the Spartans will head north toward the Denver area to take on Colorado at 5 p.m. EST and CSU Bakersfield at 9 p.m. at Colorado's Coors Events Center.
Live stats will be available for all four matches, including Friday's matches against Washington State and Air Force and Saturday's matches at Colorado. A live video stream will also be available for the matches against Air Force and Colorado only.
NSU comes into the tournament 2-8 overall after dropping all three matches last weekend to Stetson, UNC Wilmington and Rutgers at the Spartan Classic. The two Pac-12 schools, Washington State and Colorado, head into the tournament holding 7-2 marks. Air Force sits at 3-6 this year, while CSU Bakersfield owns a 2-4 mark.
NSU is led by senior Charlotte Armstead, who has tallied 3.05 kills per set on a .246 hitting percentage. Senior Beatriz Ferreira sits second with 2.44 kills, while junior Coralie Jarema (1.78) and freshman Jessica Johnson (1.50) also add to the NSU attack. Jarema also contributes 0.38 service aces per set, while freshman Darcy Moore averages 8.41 assists.
Junior Goda Jankauskaite (0.88 blocks), Jarema (0.81) and Armstead (0.76) have provided the defense at the net, while redshirt sophomore Noelle Eagles averages a team-best 3.71 digs. Sophomore Adriana Ramos (2.05 digs) and Jarema (1.86) also add to the defensive effort.
Getting Closer
Armstead inched her way closer to the all-time kills mark at NSU, as she now needs 45 more to tie Kim Mumford for the most in a Spartan career. Mumford owns the career mark of 937, while Armstead, who already owns the all-time records for total blocks and block assists, has compiled 892 career kills during her time at NSU.
MEAC Rankings
Eagles ranks third in the MEAC in digs, while Moore is the only other player in the top 5, sitting fifth in assists. Other players appearing in the top 10 include Armstead (seventh in points, eighth in hitting percentage, ninth in kills) and Jarema (eighth in service aces).
As a team, NSU ranks fifth in opponent hitting percentage (.230), assists (10.00) and kills (10.70), sixth in blocks (1.68), service aces (1.38) and digs (12.19), and eighth in hitting percentage (.127).
Who Are You?
This weekend will mark the first time NSU will face a Pac-12 school as well as CSU Bakersfield. The Spartans played Air Force back in 2006 at the William & Mary Invitational, a 3-0 Spartan loss. NSU has faced a BCS opponent just nine times, including Arkansas and Rutgers twice, and North Carolina State, St. John's, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest once each.
About Washington State
The Cougars have won six in a row following back-to-back losses to Pacific and Idaho. Washington State has won all but one of its seven matches on the year by a 3-0 score.
Jaicee Harris brings the offensive firepower with 4.37 kills and 0.50 service aces per set, followed by Rachel Todorovich (2.93 kills) and Marcelina Glab (2.03). Camryn Irwin has tallied 10.53 assists with 0.37 service aces as well. Kate Sommer has a team-best 4.30 digs, while the duo of Glab and Ver'Leea Hardaway has been big at the net with 1.43 and 1.27 blocks per set, respectively.
About Air Force
The Falcons defeated Navy and The Citadel last weekend in Washington, D.C., to run their record to 3-6. Air Force had to rally from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Navy, a team NSU beat in the first weekend of the season by a 3-1 margin.
Air Force is led by Cami Richan with 3.67 kills per set and Felicia Clement with 2.50. Hillary Keltner sets them up with 9.61 assists. On the defensive side of the ball, Taylor Parker has been the team's best blocker with 0.86 blocks per set, and Maiya Perich has dominated the backcourt defense with 5.36 digs.
About Colorado
The Buffalos defeated UMBC, Howard and Robert Morris last weekend at UMBC after dropping their previous two matches to Northern Arizona and Fresno State. Colorado defeated Howard 25-14, -9, -8, and Robert Morris, 25-22, -22, -17. NSU fell to Robert Morris earlier this year by a 3-1 score.
Alexis Austin paces the way with 2.94 kills per set, with Nikki Lindow (2.75) and Kelsey English (2.22) also chipping in. Nicole Edelman averages 9.90 assists and a team-leading 0.39 service aces. Lindow also leads the team with 1.44 blocks, while Elysse Richardson has tallied 3.04 digs.
About CSU Bakersfield
The Roadrunners picked up wins over Nevada and The Citadel earlier this year and already faced Washington State last weekend in Reno, Nev., suffering a 3-0 loss at the hands of the Cougars.
Debora Araujo has provided a good portion of the offense with 4.29 kills and 0.43 service aces per set, followed by Shayna Guitare (2.33 kills) and Kelsee Sawyer (2.29). Fernanda Goncalves has handed out 10.52 assists, while Julia Bowen owns a team-leading 1.05 blocks. Mariah Alvidrez and Araujo lead the way for CSU Bakersfield with 3.05 and 2.43 digs per set, respectively.
Up Next
The Spartans will host their second tournament of the year Sept. 21-22 at Joseph Echols Hall, with Texas-Pan American, South Carolina State and Hampton joining NSU for the Spartan Invitational.
