Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A late comeback allowed the Norfolk State volleyball team to earn a split on the second day of the Mountaineer Invitational on Saturday. NSU rallied late to top Canisius, 3-2, before succumbing to Fordham later in the day, 3-0.

NSU's offense woke up against Canisius in a morning match at the WVU Coliseum, and sophomore Darcy Moore was a big catalyst in NSU's play. She tallied 56 assists against the Golden Griffins, setting the school record in the process. Moore finished with one more assist than Afreya Allen, who had 55 against Howard on Oct. 17, 2003.

Sophomore Jessica Johnson had 19 kills and hit .260 to lead the Spartan offense against Canisius, while senior Goda Jankauskaite finished with 16 kills. Moore also completed the double-double with 19 digs, while redshirt junior Noelle Eagles led all players with 23.

Moore was named to the all-tournament team as well.

Fordham was all over NSU in the first set of their match later in the afternoon, winning 25-6 before completing the sweep with 25-15, 25-19 victories in the next two sets.

Canisius (0-7) won in extra points in the third set to take a 2-1 lead after the teams split the first two, 25-19 for the Golden Griffins in the first and 25-20 for the Spartans in the second. The Spartans (2-5) then exerted themselves over Canisius in the last two sets, winning 25-19, 15-13.

NSU won four straight points early in the fourth set to take a one-point lead. The Spartans twice called timeout after falling behind, the last time down 17-13. That second timeout did the trick, as NSU went on a 12-2 run to close out the stanza. Jankauskaite and Johnson each had three kills during that late stretch.

Jankauskaite had four kills and Eagles tallied three straight service aces to give NSU an early 8-3 lead in the final set. A couple of kills from sophomore Janay Frazier and three more from Johnson put NSU up, 12-6. The Spartans needed one more point after getting to 14-7, but Canisius did not go away, scoring six straight to cut the deficit to 14-13 before one last kill from Johnson gave NSU the win and Moore the assists record.

NSU found itself down 9-5 to start the match, and eventually Canisius took a 16-9 lead. NSU cut the deficit to 23-19 late before the Golden Griffins won the last two points of the first set. Several kills from Johnson and freshman Tori Tulensru in the second set put NSU up, 14-9. The Spartans slowly built their advantage to 22-15, and then Johnson, Jankauskaite and senior Coralie Jarema each added kills late to help NSU tie the match up at 1-1.

The Spartans had an 8-3 lead in the third set, but Canisius scored six straight points and 10 of 12 overall during the middle of the stanza for a 16-13 lead. NSU came back and grabbed the lead back at 21-20 on a block from Moore and freshman Dominique Parker. After Canisius earned the lead back, the Spartans held off set serve three times before the Golden Griffins won in extra points.

Canisius outhit NSU, .153-.147, although the Spartans had 15 more kills than the Golden Griffins. Norfolk State also had an 11-5 advantage in service aces. Tulensru finished with 11 kills, nine digs and four blocks, while Jankauskaite had five blocks.

Fordham (4-3) hit .330 in the match with NSU, including .500 in the first set when the Rams won 14 straight at one point. The Spartans fared a little better in the second, at one point taking a 9-8 lead on a kill by Jankauskaite. Fordham won nine of 10 a little later to put NSU away.

Then in the third set, the Spartans eventually fell behind by eight, 19-11, before winning seven of nine points to get to within three, 21-18. Fordham quickly dashed any hopes of NSU winning a set by capturing four of the last five points.

Tulensru and Jankauskaite led NSU with eight and seven kills, respectively, against the Rams.

The Spartans will play their first home matches of the year beginning on Thursday against UNC Charlotte at 7 p.m. as part of the Spartan Classic. NSU also plays Friday and Saturday against Bethune-Cookman and UMES.