This Weekend
Friday: NSU vs. Penn, 4:30 p.m.
Saturday: NSU at Villanova, 11 a.m.; NSU vs. Sacred Heart, 4:30 p.m.
Live Video (Villanova match only)
Live Stats: Penn | Villanova | Sacred Heart

NORFOLK, Va. – The last regular season tournament of the year finds the Norfolk State volleyball team at the Villanova Classic, giving the Spartans one last tune-up before MEAC play kicks off next weekend.

NSU will face Penn at 4:30 p.m. on Friday at Villanova's Jake Nevin Field House, followed by the host Wildcats at 11 a.m. on Saturday. The Spartans will also compete against Sacred Heart at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Villanova will offer a live video stream of its match with NSU and live stats for all of the matches at the tournament.

The Spartans have never faced Villanova or Penn. Sacred Heart downed NSU 3-0 in 2009 at the Maryland Eastern Shore Tournament in their only ever matchup.

Scouting the Spartans
NSU owns a 4-7 record this year, including wins over Bethune-Cookman and UMES last weekend. Senior Goda Jankauskaite (2.62 kills per set) and sophomore Jessica Johnson (2.43) pace the NSU offense, but sophomores Janay Frazier and Angie Darcus (1.85 and 1.40 kills per set, respectively) and senior Coralie Jarema (1.41 kills) stepped up at various times last weekend as well.

Sophomore Darcy Moore has tallied 8.92 assists so far this year, and junior Adriana Ramos and Jarema lead the team with 13 and 12 service aces, respectively. Redshirt junior Noelle Eagles (3.84 digs per set) and Moore (2.47) have anchored the backcourt defense, and Jarema and Janksauskaite (a combined 38 blocks) have been the team's top blockers so far this year.

Last Time Out
William & Mary got a measure of revenge with a 3-0 victory over NSU on Tuesday. The Spartans knocked off the Tribe last year in Norfolk for NSU's first win in the all-time series. This year at the Tribe's home court, Dessi Koleva had 14 kills and 12 digs to lead William & Mary to a 25-21, 25-18, 25-16 win.

Frazier had eight kills to lead NSU.

MEAC Rankings
Moore and Eagles are the only Spartans ranked in the top 5 in the MEAC, as Moore sits fourth in assists and Eagles ranks fifth in digs. Ramos (service aces) and Jankauskaite (hitting percentage) both sit 10th in their respective categories as well.

As a team, NSU stands second in service aces (1.66), third in opponent hitting percentage (.205) and assists (10.53), fourth in kills (10.89) and digs (13.29), sixth in hitting percentage (.114) and 10th in blocks (1.42).

About Villanova
A 3-2 win over Delaware this week improved Villanova's record to 5-5 on the year. The Wildcats downed George Mason and New Hampshire last weekend and also took a set from nationally-ranked Nebraska earlier in the season.

On the offensive side, Lauren Carpenter leads the way with 3.22 kills per set, followed by Claire Crutchfield (2.74) and Michaela Berendt (2.70). Emma Pettit has handed out 10.50 assists, with Mariah Henley tops on the team with 0.38 service aces. Berendt is the team's top blocker (0.77 blocks per set), and Henley has almost twice as many digs (5.00 per set) as the next closest player.

About Penn
The Quakers own a 3-4 record and won their last two matches last weekend in their home tournament, against Temple and Weber State in five-set matches.

Jasmine DeSilva (3.03 kills), Kristen Etterbeek (2.61) and Alex Caldwell (2.00) all average at least two kills per set, and Caldwell and Ronnie Bither have split time at setter. Arielle Winfield is easily the team's top blocker at 0.87 per set, and Dani Shepherd is one of the nation's top libero with 5.78 digs per set.

About Sacred Heart
The Pioneers stand 5-4 this year, having recently taken down Rutgers at the Delaware Tournament. Of the three other teams in the tournament, Sacred Heart has faced the only common opponent with NSU. The Pioneers defeated UMES 3-1 on Sept. 7.

Sarah Krufka and Dianis Mercado pace the way on offense with 3.14 and 2.86 kills per set, respectively. Kiki Robinson averages 10.93 assists, and Mercado has also been the team's top server with 0.48 service aces. Ana Gonzalez has posted 3.90 digs, but the team struggles up front on defense, averaging just 0.97 blocks per set as a team.

Up Next
The Spartans begin MEAC play next weekend, hosting Hampton on Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. and Coppin State on Sept. 29 at 3 p.m. at Joseph Echols Hall.