This Weekend
Friday: NSU at Morgan State, 7 p.m., Hill Field House
Sunday: NSU at Coppin State, 3 p.m., Physical Education Complex

NORFOLK, Va. – Looking to put more distance between itself and the lower half of the conference standings, the Norfolk State volleyball team will head to Morgan State and Coppin State this weekend with an eye toward inching closer to securing a spot in the MEAC tournament in a few weeks.

The Spartans play at Morgan State on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Hill Field House, and then will travel across town to play Coppin State at 3 p.m. on Sunday at the Physical Education Complex.

NSU will try to make it a sweep of both schools after defeating Morgan State, 3-2, and Coppin State, 3-0, at home earlier this season. At 4-3, Norfolk State sits in a tie for third place in the MEAC Northern Division with Morgan State, with Coppin State nipping at their heels at 3-4.

Hampton, at 7-0, and Howard, at 4-2, stand first and second respectively in the North, with UMES (2-5) and Delaware State (0-7) farther back.

Like NSU, Hampton will also play the Baltimore schools this weekend. Howard hosts both UMES and Delaware State in the other divisional matchups.

Scouting the Spartans
Sophomore Janay Frazier ranks third on the team with 1.90 kills per set, with senior Coralie Jarema also stepping up recently and ranking fourth with 1.72. Senior Goda Jankauskaite continues to lead the team with 2.83, with sophomore Jessica Johnson second at 2.29.

Sophomore Darcy Moore has tallied 9.23 assists, with junior Adriana Ramos tops on the team with 0.32 service aces. On the defensive side of the ball, redshirt junior Noelle Eagles has posted 3.81 digs, with Moore second at 2.28. Jarema has a team-leading 39 blocks, with Jankauskaite second at 36.

On Fire
Thanks to 16 kills and just one attack error, Frazier hit .536 in the match last week against UMES. Both marked career highs, and her attack percentage was the second-best on the season by a Spartan player behind Jankauskaite's .667 percentage against UMES on Sept. 14.

Record Keeping
Jankauskaite moved into the top 15 in the NSU history book this year in total kills, while Johnson (attacks), Ramos (sets played, service aces, digs), Eagles (sets played), Flowers and Jarema (block assists), and Jankauskaite (block assists, total blocks) have all done the same.

Moore now ranks third all-time in assists behind Nicole Kessner and Solange Honore with 1,651, with Jarema and Jankauskaite tied for fifth in career block assists (106) and Flowers tied for eighth (104).

MEAC Rankings
As a team, NSU sits third in service aces (1.58), fourth in assists (10.62), kills (11.20) and digs (12.73), fifth in opponent hitting percentage (.211), seventh in hitting percentage (.126) and 11th in blocks (1.22).

Moore (third, 9.23 assists), Eagles (fifth, 3.81 digs) and Jankauskaite (ninth, 2.83 kills) are the only three Spartan players to rank in the top 10 in the MEAC.

National Rankings
NSU now sits 30th in the nation in service aces per set at 1.58. Two players rank in the individual categories, with Moore at 161 in assists and Ramos ranked No. 172 in service aces.

About Morgan State
The Bears are riding a wave of momentum after winning four straight, including the last two over Howard and Coppin State. Morgan State sits at 9-11 overall this year despite having just two players, Samantha Prescott (2.37) and Zuri Smith (2.00) averaging at least two kills per set.

Ngebui Chafeh has been the team's primary setter, while Prescott and Tamara Leslie lead the way with 2.86 and 2.49 digs per set, respectively. Smith and Janelle Wilson are the team's top blockers.

About Coppin State
The Eagles defeated Morgan State in the teams' first meeting this year before the Bears returned the favor last weekend. Coppin State also owns wins over UMES and Delaware State by 3-0 scores and also took care of North Carolina Central for a 7-15 overall record.

Cindy Okpegbue paces the way with 3.00 kills per set, followed by Ariel Richard (2.32) and Kandace Thomas (2.03). Chelsee Sauni does most of the heavy lifting at setter, with Gabrielle Otero doing the same at libero with 4.28 digs. Kendra Ireigbe (0.73 blocks per set) and Marissa Freeman (0.70) are the team's top defenders at the net.

Up Next
NSU will host Howard for Senior Night on Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. at Gill Gymnasium.