This WeekendNORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State volleyball team will be at home for the entire weekend for the first time this year, as the Spartans host Morgan State on Friday night and Coppin State on Sunday afternoon at Joseph Echols Hall.
The contest against Morgan State will begin at 7 p.m. It is also designated Breast Cancer Awareness Night, as the Spartans will decorate Echols Hall in pink and fans are encouraged to wear pink while donating to the fight against cancer. Sunday's match against Coppin State begins at 3 p.m.
Fans can follow the action with the
live stats and
live video feed. In addition to desktops and laptops, live stats and live video are also available on tablets and smartphones.
NSU faces a pair of teams battling it out for the North's final two spots in the MEAC tournament next month. Morgan State and Coppin State currently sit at 4-3 in league play, tied for third in the standings. The Bears own an 11-9 record, while the Eagles stand 10-10.
NSU, meanwhile, continues to search for its first win of the year at 0-19 overall and 0-7 in the conference.
HomestandBeginning with last Sunday's matchup against Hampton, NSU will play five of its last six matches at home. After this weekend, NSU plays a road match next Friday and then returns home for the final two matches of the year at Joseph Echols Hall.
The contest against Delaware State on Nov. 9 will mark NSU's Senior Day for its four departing players:
Noelle Eagles,
Adriana Ramos,
Kylee Thiim and
Jasmin Flowers.
MEAC StandingsMSU and CSU continue to chase Hampton (6-0) and Howard (5-1) in conference play, as those two schools stand 1-2 in the North. At 3-4 and in fifth place, UMES is hot on the trail in the quest for the fourth spot in the standings behind the Bears and Eagles. Delaware State sits in sixth at 1-5 ahead of NSU.
The tiered results continue in the South, with Florida A&M (5-0) and Bethune-Cookman (4-1) in the top spots. North Carolina A&T (3-2) and South Carolina State (2-3) rank third and fourth, respectively, while North Carolina Central (1-4) and Savannah State (0-5) round of the division. So far this year, no team in the South has defeated a school above it in the standings nor lost to a team below it.
MEAC RankingsOn the season,
Jessica Johnson ranks fifth in the MEAC in both kills a (3.29) and points (3.48) per set.
Darcy Moore ranks sixth in assists at 8.78.
As a team, NSU ranks fifth in assists (10.41), seventh in kills (11.05) and service aces (1.30), eighth in hitting percentage (.114), 12
th in blocks (1.18) and digs (11.66) and 13
th in opponent hitting percentage (.260).
Series HistoryMorgan State and Coppin State each won this year's first matchup with NSU. That pushed MSU's all-time record against the Spartans to 16-5, while Coppin State and NSU are now tied at 11-11 in their all-time series history. NSU is 4-3 against both teams since moving to the Northern Division in 2011.
Coppin State and Morgan State are the only two MEAC schools NSU has taken a set from this year. The Spartans lost to both teams on the road by 3-1 scores.
Scouting the OpponentsCindy Okpegbue and Ariel Richard carry the CSU offense with 3.99 and 3.06 kills per set, respectively, with Kandace Thomas third on the team with 1.97. Chelsee Sauni tallies 10.65 assists, with Gabrielle Otero leading the charge on defense with 4.05 digs. Kendra Ireigbe is the team's top blocker by far with 0.85 blocks. The Eagles are even in most categories compared to their opponents, from kills (12.20-12.24) to hitting percentage (.221-.221) to blocks (1.58-1.61). CSU does own the advantage in digs per set, 13.56 compared to 12.51 for opponents.
Compared to CSU, the Bears boast a balanced attack, led by Arianna Hayden with 2.76 kills per set. Four other players average at least two kills per set, including Evely Macedo (2.30), Dinah Jones (2.29), Samantha Prescott (2.15) and Zuri Smith (2.11). Carmen Fernandez directs the offense with 10.06 assists, and Haley McClure is tops among all MEAC players in service aces at 0.41. Four players also average at least two digs per set, highlighted by Tamara Leslie (2.35) and Prescott (2.20). Fernandez (2.19) and Macedo (2.15) also chip in, while the trio of Hayden (0.59 blocks), Jones (0.56) and Smith (0.55) provide defense at the net.
Up NextThe Spartans will make their last road trip of the year on Halloween night on Oct. 31 when they head to Howard for a 7 p.m. matchup.
