This WeekendNORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State volleyball team will close out the 2014 season this weekend with a pair of matches on its home court. NSU hosts UMES on Friday, followed by a Sunday matinee against Delaware State.
The contest against the Hawks begins at 7 p.m. on Friday, while Sunday's matchup with the Hornets starts at 3 p.m. Sunday is also Senior Day, as NSU will honor its four departing seniors,
Noelle Eagles,
Adriana Ramos,
Kylee Thiim and
Jasmin Flowers, prior to the beginning of the match.
A free
live stat feed will be available for both contests, and
live video feed will be as well. The live video carries a $5 per match cost. In addition to desktops and laptops, live stats and live video are also available on tablets and smartphones.
The Spartans will look to close out a disappointing season on a good note against two other teams also out of the running for the MEAC tournament. NSU carries a 1-21 overall record this year, including 1-9 in conference play.
UMES stands in fifth place in the MEAC Northern Division at 3-7, with a 10-16 overall record. Delaware State owns a 1-23 overall record, including 1-8 in conference play. DSU's only win this year came against the Spartans on Oct. 12 in Dover, Del. UMES' three victories in conference play have come against the Hornets (twice) and the Spartans.
Senior SaluteThe foursome of Eagles, Ramos, Thiim and Flowers will wrap up their careers on Sunday, including a pair of fifth-year players in Eagles and Thiim. Both arrived at NSU prior to the 2010 season.
Eagles started right away at libero. By the third match of her career, she had already set the school record for digs in a single contest, a record she would later tie and then top two others times throughout her career. She easily ranks first all-time at NSU in digs with 1,477, the only player to ever top 1,000. She also has added 262 assists, 64 service aces and 12 kills in her career, and owns the school record for digs in a season with 457. Hailing from Richmond, Ind., Eagles earned third-team All-MEAC honors in 2013.
Thiim played in a reserve role her first few years but has had her best season this year, leading the team with 36 blocks and a .209 hitting percentage. For her career, the Honolulu, Hawaii native has totaled 83 kills, 49 blocks, 45 digs, 18 assists and eight service aces. Both she and Eagles used redshirt seasons in 2011 because of injuries.
The only in-state player of the four, Ramos competed at outside hitter her freshman year before switching to defensive specialist her last three years. She currently ranks seventh all-time at NSU in career digs with 721 as well as 10
th in service aces with 112. She was the team's Rookie of the Year in 2011 after compiling 213 kills and 168 digs. Ramos, from Fredericksburg, Va., owns career totals of 273 kills, 79 assists and 12 blocks.
Flowers, who arrived at NSU from Seguin, Texas, ranks seventh all-time at NSU with 109 block assists and 15
th in total blocks with 125. She has also tallied 239 kills in her time with the Spartans with 44 digs, seven assists and four service aces. Flowers had her best season as a sophomore in 2012, earning the team's Most Improved Player Award after finishing with 124 kills and 58 blocks. She's been named to the MEAC All-Academic Team the last two years and is a member of the NSU Honors College.
MEAC StandingsHoward's win over Hampton last weekend pushed the Bison into the lead in the North at 9-1, although the Pirates can still tie for the division title at the end of the year as they sit at 8-1. Coppin State (7-4) and Morgan State (6-5) have locked up the final two spots in the conference tournament.
In the South, Florida A&M remains undefeated at 9-0, with Bethune-Cookman second at 7-2. North Carolina A&T (4-4) and South Carolina State (3-5) sit in third and fourth place, respectively. North Carolina Central (2-6) still has a shot at finishing in fourth, while Savannah State (0-8) is out of the running.
MEAC RankingsHeading into the final weekend of the year for NSU,
Jessica Johnson continues to rank fifth in the league in kills per set (3.13) and seventh in points (3.35).
Darcy Moore, who has missed the last several matches due to injury, still ranks sixth in assists (8.78).
As a team, NSU ranks fifth in the league in assists (10.57), sixth in kills (11.24), seventh in service aces (1.33), eighth in hitting percentage (.125) and 12
th in opponent hitting percentage (.263), blocks (1.21) and digs (11.15).
Series HistoryUMES now has a 26-10 edge over NSU after winning their first matchup this season. Delaware State, meanwhile, owns a 20-10 advantage in the all-time series with the Spartans. Both teams won earlier this year by 3-0 scores after the Spartans won all five matches against the two programs last year (including a win over UMES in a home tournament).
Scouting the OppositionUMES has dropped four in a row after sweeping NSU and DSU in a mid-October home weekend. Ksenia Sukhareva (2.63 kills per set) and Ashley Smith (2.59) lead the Hawk offense, with Kirstin Fink also chipping in with 2.04 kills while splitting time at setter with Precious Manu (721 combined assists). Alana Polk is by far the team's top blocker with 1.05 blocks per set, while Allison Woods (2.87 digs) is one of four players averaging at least two digs per set along with Sukhareva, Smith and Manu.
DSU has lost eight in a row since its victory over the Spartans. The Hornets struggle on offense, with Jasmine Jackson the only player averaging at least two kills per set at 2.90. Nevershi Ellis is the only other player with at least 100 kills on the year. Natalia Mendieta and Taylor Marshall split time at setter, combining for 613 assists. On defense, Ariana Stevens and Jae Jackson average 0.78 and 0.74 blocks per set, respectively, and Jackson is also tops on the team with 2.59 digs.
