Friday
NSU at Morgan State, 7 p.m., Hill Field House

NORFOLK, Va. – As the calendar turns to October, the Norfolk State volleyball team will look to turn a new page on its season when the Spartans head to Morgan State this Friday to take on the Bears. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at MSU's Hill Field House.

NSU enters the month of October looking for its first win of the year. Last weekend, the Spartans opened up league play with a pair of losses on the road at Hampton (3-0) and Coppin State (3-1). That also dropped their overall record to 0-14.

Morgan State, meanwhile, owns an 8-7 record on the year, including 1-1 in conference play. The Bears defeated Coppin State 3-1 before falling 3-1 to Hampton last weekend at home. MSU has won six of its last eight matches on the season.

Closing In
Darcy Moore needs just 52 more assists to move past Nicole Kessner for the school record. Moore currently has 2,373 assists for her three-year career. Kessner compiled 2,424 assists during her time at NSU from 2008-12.

On the Road Again
Friday's match will mark NSU's 15^th straight contest away from home to start the 2014 season. It is believed to be the longest stretch that the Spartans have ever gone without playing a home match to start the year.

NSU's six home matches this year are the fewest since the 1997 season, when the Spartans also had just six contests at home.

MEAC Rankings
Jessica Johnson ranks fifth in the conference in kills at 3.33 per set. She also sits sixth in points with 3.53. Darcy Moore is the only other player in the top-10 individual rankings, currently fifth in assists (9.04) and ninth in service aces (0.29).

As a team, Norfolk State ranks fourth in service aces at 1.29, fifth in assists (10.94) and kills (11.52), eighth in hitting percentage (.123), ninth in digs (12.12), 11^th in opponent hitting percentage (.260) and 12^th in blocks (1.14).

Series History
Morgan State has the edge in the all-time series, 15-5. After NSU moved to the Northern Division in 2011, the Bears won both meetings with the Spartans that year. NSU has swept Morgan State the last two years, including a pair of 3-2 victories last year.

About Morgan State
The Bears bring a balanced offensive attack into Friday's match, as five different players average more than two kills per set. Arianna Hayden leads the way with 2.72 kills, while Evely Macedo (2.35), Zuri Smith (2.26), Dinah Jones (2.21) and Samantha Prescott (2.21) also score at times for MSU. Carmen Fernandez averages 10.45 assists per set, good for third in the league.

It's the same on defense, as Tamara Leslie tallies a team-leading 2.43 digs. Prescott, meanwhile, has a team-best 119 total digs and is one of four other players beside Leslie who averages at least two digs per set. Hayden and Jones are tied for the team-lead with 0.57 blocks.

Up Next
NSU will play its first home match of the year on Oct. 10 against Howard. The contest will be played in Gill Gymnasium due to Homecoming activities inside Joseph Echols Hall.