This Weekend
Thursday: NSU at UMES, 7 p.m., W.P. Hytche Athletic Center | Live Stats
Sunday: NSU at Delaware State, 3 p.m., Memorial Hall | Live Stats

NORFOLK, Va. – The closing stretch of the regular season finds the Norfolk State volleyball team facing a do-or-die situation with a berth in the MEAC tournament on the line.

NSU will be on the road to close out the year, facing UMES on Thursday at 7 p.m. followed by Delaware State on Sunday at 3 p.m. In order for the Spartans to qualify for the MEAC tournament, they need to win both contests and for Howard to defeat Morgan State on Friday night.

Norfolk State owns the tiebreaker over Morgan State by virtue of its season sweep of the Bears. NSU currently sits at 5-5 in the MEAC Northern Division, while Morgan State and Coppin State are tied for third at 7-4. Only the top four teams in the division advance to the MEAC tournament.

The Spartans do not own the tiebreaker with Coppin State, which plays Howard on Sunday. NSU would get the No. 3 seed by winning twice along with Howard defeating both Baltimore schools. The Spartans would be the No. 4 seed if they win twice and Howard defeats Morgan State, regardless of the outcome of the Howard-Coppin State match.

The Spartans own a 9-17 overall record after dropping a contest at American, 3-0, on Tuesday night. UMES stands 3-19 on the year, including 2-8 in conference play, while Delaware State is last in the Northern Division standings at 0-10 in the MEAC and 2-20 overall.

Live stats for the match against UMES can be found here and for the Delaware State match here.

MEAC Update
Hampton currently sits in first place in the MEAC North at 8-3, with Howard second at 7-3. Florida A&M, now eligible for the MEAC tournament after getting a waiver, ranks as the top dog in the South at 9-0. Four other teams, North Carolina A&T (5-3), Bethune-Cookman (5-4), and South Carolina State and North Carolina Central (each 3-5) are battling it out for the final three spots.

Senior Goda Jankauskaite ranks sixth in the conference in kills (3.00), while sophomore Darcy Moore fourth in assists at 9.21. Redshirt junior Noelle Eagles stands sixth in digs at 3.67, while Jankauskaite is also eighth in points (3.30).

As a team, NSU ranks fourth in assists (10.61) and kills (11.17), fifth in opponent hitting percentage (.228) and service aces (1.47), seventh in hitting percentage (.130) and digs (12.22), and 11th in blocks (1.18).

More on NSU
Jankauskaite has been a big part of the NSU offense in MEAC play, as she leads the team in both kills (3.00 per set) and hitting percentage (.208). Fellow senior Coralie Jarema has also stepped up in conference play, ranking third on the team with 1.89 kills behind sophomore Jessica Johnson (2.15).

Moore directs traffic on offense, with junior Adriana Ramos in the team lead for service aces at 0.29. Moore stands second on the team with 2.13 digs behind Eagles, while Jarema (48 blocks) and Jankauskaite (44) are NSU's top defenders at the net.

Closing In
Moore needs just 10 assists to tie her school record for assists in a season. She set the mark last year with 913. With a strong showing this weekend, Jankauskaite could move into third place in single-season kills, while Eagles already ranks fourth in single-season digs.

Senior Standouts
Jarema and Jankauskaite each have posted double-digit kill performances in six of the last seven conference matches. Jankauskaite has reached the 20-kill plateau in three matches this year, all during conference play.

About UMES
Ashley Smith is the lone player for UMES averaging better than two kills per set at 2.27. Diara Lewis (1.77 kills) and Haley Robinson (1.73) also contribute on the offensive side of the ball behind setter Sonia Rosales (6.23 assists per set).

Jingqiao Li is one of the top players in the MEAC with 4.56 digs per set, while the next closest teammate is Rosales at 1.43. Robinson paces the way up front with 0.69 blocks.

About Delaware State
The Hornets' only two wins this year came against Saint Peter's and Bethune-Cookman, although DSU has taken UMES and Hampton to five sets this season. On offense, Jasmine Jackson (2.99 kills per set), Jessica Russell-Croucher (2.76) and Edarkis Branch (2.62) have provided nearly 85 percent of the team's production. Natalia Mendieta has a team-leading 0.41 service aces while splitting the setter duties with Taylor Marshall.

Sonya Inderbitzin has totaled 2.32 digs per set to lead the Hornet defense, with Russell-Croucher first on the team with 174 total digs. Jae Jackson and Carey Berry average 0.84 and 0.73 blocks per set, respectively.

MEAC Tournament
The conference tournament will take place Nov. 15-17 at the Physical Education Complex at Coppin State.