Spartan Invitational
Friday: Hampton vs. South Carolina State, 4 p.m.
NSU vs. Texas-Pan American, 7 p.m.
Saturday: Texas-Pan American vs. Hampton, 11 a.m.
NSU vs. South Carolina State, 2 p.m.
South Carolina State vs. Texas-Pan American, 5 p.m.
NSU vs. Hampton, 8 p.m.
Live Stats | Live Video
NORFOLK, Va. – The last tournament of the regular season for the Norfolk State volleyball team will find the Spartans at home this weekend, with the two-day Spartan Invitational set to take place Friday and Saturday at Joseph Echols Hall. Texas-Pan American, South Carolina State and Hampton will join host NSU, and each team will play one match against the other three.
The Spartans will play Texas-Pan American Friday at 7 p.m. after Hampton and S.C. State open the tournament at 4 that day. Then on Saturday, the Spartans will take on S.C. State at 2 p.m. and Hampton at 8, with Hampton and Texas-Pan American facing off at 11 a.m. and South Carolina State and Texas-Pan American going head-to-head at 5 p.m.
Live stats will be available for every match this weekend. The link is the same each time. In addition, a live video feed will be provided for each match as well. Cost of the video feed is $5 for one match or $8 for a doubleheader pass, when a team plays twice in one day. The passes must be bought the day of the match(es).
NSU enters the match 2-12 overall after getting swept last weekend by the likes of Washington State, Colorado, Air Force and CSU Bakersfield. Hampton owns a 7-9 record, including wins over MEAC schools Bethune-Cookman and Howard. S.C. State has tallied a 2-5 record so far, while Texas-Pan American carries a 3-10 mark into the tournament.
One of just three players to start every match, senior Charlotte Armstead continues to lead the way for NSU with 2.92 kills per set on a .226 hitting percentage. Senior Beatriz Ferreira ranks second with 2.28 kills, with freshman Jessica Johnson (1.61) and juniors Coralie Jarema (1.58) and Goda Jankauskaite (1.41) providing offense as well.
Jarema and Johnson also lead NSU with 0.35 and 0.27 service aces per set, respectively, while freshman Darcy Moore has handed out 8.29 assists.
Defensively, Jankauskaite and Jarema rank 1-2 in blocks with 0.89 and 0.79, respectively. Redshirt sophomore Noelle Eagles, who missed last weekend's tournament due to injury, has a team-leading 3.71 digs. Sophomore Adriana Ramos filled in for Eagles at libero and ranks second on the team with 2.00 digs.
About to be Top Dog
Armstead needs 15 more kills to move into a tie with Kim Mumford for the No. 1 spot all-time at NSU in career kills. Mumford tallied 937 during her four-year reign from 1992-95. Armstead already owns the career marks for block assists and total blocks and is also on pace to be No. 1 at NSU in total attacks and sets played.
MEAC Rankings
Moore ranks seventh in the conference with 8.29 assists per set, while Armstead sits eighth in points (3.38) and ninth in kills (2.92). Eagles stands fourth with 3.71 digs, and Jarema ranks eighth with 0.35 service aces.
As a team, NSU ranks fifth in kills (10.53), sixth in assists (9.73), seventh in blocks (1.61) and service aces (1.31), eighth in hitting percentage (.112) and opponent hitting percentage (.261), and ninth in digs (10.96).
All-Time Series
NSU has never faced Texas-Pan American, and the Spartans trail in the all-time series with South Carolina State, 20-4, and Hampton, 42-10.
About Texas-Pan American
The Broncos own wins over Savannah State, Southern and Texas Southern this year and are led by Diara Reynolds and Krysta Freitas with 2.30 and 2.19 kills per set, respectively. Haley Durham (1.84) and Michelle McNamee (1.76) also add offense, while Nycole Masaki has handed out 8.45 assists. Durham leads the way with 0.75 blocks, and Juri Franzen anchors the backcourt defense with 4.77 digs.
About Hampton
After missing the beginning of the season, Vendula Strakova has caught fire and currently leads the Pirates with 5.12 kills per set. Krista Kraskura ranks second with 3.48, while Sonja Maksimovic is third with 2.12. Bibiany Fonseca averages 9.35 assists, and Kraskura has added 0.38 service aces. Mariah Baylor provides most of the blocking with 0.90 per set, while Kraskura (3.08 digs), Strakova (2.65) and Samantha Sours (2.50) lead the way in digs.
About S.C. State
The Bulldogs defeated Coastal Carolina and Louisiana Tech but have played just one match since Sept. 1. After missing the first weekend of play, Desire Waller jumped back into the lineup and currently leads all players with 4.79 kills. Maya Bell ranks second with 2.48 kill, with Melanie Williams handing out 8.40 assists. Elizabeth Webb is tops with 3.52 digs, and Alyse Lewis has compiled 1.16 blocks per set.
Up Next
NSU will kick off the conference portion of its season Sept. 28 and 30 on the road at Coppin State and Morgan State.
