This WeekendNORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State volleyball team will hit the road once again to play at UMES on Friday, and then the Spartans will host Hampton in the Battle of the Bay on Sunday at Joseph Echols Hall. Start time for Sunday's matinee with the Pirates is set for 3 p.m.
NSU will face UMES on Friday at 6 p.m. at the W.P. Hytche Athletic Center, capping a stretch in which the Spartans will play 17 of their first 18 matches of the year on the road.
The contest against the Pirates, the second half of the Battle of the Bay for this year, will mark the start of this year's closing stretch in which NSU plays five of its final six matches at home.
Live stats for the matchup with the Hawks will be available
here. Both
live stats and a
live video feed will be available for the contest against Hampton.
The Spartans continue to search for their first win of the year, as they sit 0-17 overall and 0-5 in the conference. UMES (8-12, 1-4 MEAC) is the last school in the Northern Division NSU has not faced yet this year. Hampton, meanwhile, sits atop the conference standings at 5-0, with a 10-9 overall record.
Record BreakerDarcy Moore surpassed Nicole Kessner for NSU's all-time assist record in last Friday's 3-0 loss to Howard. Kessner totaled 2,424 assists in her four-year career that stretched from 2008-12. Moore overtook Kessner in the third set against Howard, and the junior from Colorado now has 2,448 career assists.
Since 2012, NSU players have set school records for matches played (122), sets played (445), kills (1,177), attacks (2,712), block assists (211), total blocks (264) (all by Charlotte Armstead), digs (currently 1,472 held by
Noelle Eagles) and assists (first Kessner, now Moore).
MEAC RankingsDarcy Moore ranks fifth in the league in assists per set (8.78), while
Jessica Johnson stands fifth in kills per set (3.29) and sixth in points (3.48).
As a team, NSU ranks fifth in the league in kills per set (11.41) and assists (10.79), seventh in service aces (1.26), eighth in hitting percentage (.121), 12
th in blocks (1.16) and digs (11.67) and 13
th in opponent hitting percentage (.263).
MEAC StandingsThe North has clear separation, with Hampton (5-0), Morgan State (4-1), Howard (4-1) and Coppin State (3-3) all in line to qualify for the four Northern Division spots in the MEAC tournament. UMES and Delaware State (1-4 each) and NSU (0-5) would need to make up a lot of ground to get into the top 4.
On the other hand, the South has clear separation, as Florida A&M (5-0), Bethune-Cookman (4-1), North Carolina A&T (3-2), South Carolina State (2-3), North Carolina Central (1-4) and Savannah State (0-5) round out the standings. In fact, the schools in the South have lost to the team(s) above it in the standings while also defeating every team(s) below it in the standings.
Series HistoryUMES owns a 25-10 advantage in the all-time series with NSU, while Hampton now has a 46-12 edge in the all-time series with the Spartans. NSU won both of last year's meetings with UMES, breaking a 22-match losing streak to the Hawks that dated back to the 2001 season. Hampton has won three in a row over the Spartans.
Bitten by the Injury BugNSU has had at least six of its main rotation players out of the lineup at one point or another because of injury this year. On the other side, senior
Kylee Thiim, juniors
Darcy Moore and
Meghan Peji, sophomore
Kayla Cason and freshman
Clarke Tyler are the only players to compete in all 17 matches. Moore is also the only player to appear in all 58 sets, with Tyler (57) and Peji (53) the only other players to play in at least 50.
Scouting the OpponentsUMES has lost five in a row since a 3-2 win over Delaware State, although UMES has defeated three Southern Division teams this year in Savannah State, North Carolina A&T and Bethune-Cookman. Ashley Smith leads the offense with 2.82 kills per set, followed by Ksenia Sukhareva (2.64) and Kirstin Fink (2.01). Fink has split setting duties with Precious Manu. Defensively, Alana Polk (1.03 blocks) and Allison Woods (3.15 digs) lead the way, with Sukhareva (2.60 digs) and Smith (2.14 digs) also chipping in.
Vendula Strakova has carried the Pirate offense with 5.60 kills per set, with Krista Kraskura (2.99 kills) and Sonja Maksimovic (2.43) also adding some scoring punch. Kitija Megne (10.65 assists) directs the offense and also provides some defense with 2.13 digs. Strakova (2.69 digs), Kraskura (2.48) and Allysa Medina (2.44) round out a solid backcourt rotation, while Marija Kocevska and Kennedy Kenney (0.75 blocks each) anchor the defense up front.
Up NextNSU will play a full weekend at home beginning on Oct. 24 against Morgan State at 7 p.m., followed by a 3 p.m. contest against Coppin State on Oct. 26.
