Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Norfolk State volleyball team suffered a pair of losses on Friday during the first day of the Carolina Classic. Host South Carolina took down NSU 3-0 in a morning match, and then The Citadel knocked off the Spartans 3-1 in a late afternoon contest at the Carolina Volleyball Center.
 
The Gamecocks earned the sweep by winning 25-19, 25-12 and 25-22. The Bulldogs had a little more trouble putting NSU away. After dropping the first two sets, 25-19 and 25-19, the Spartans rebounded to win the third set, 25-20. NSU let a lead slip away in the fourth set, won late by The Citadel, 25-23.
 
Sophomore Jessica Johnson added 18 kills against the Gamecocks and then led NSU again with 14 kills against the Bulldogs. Sophomore Tori Tulensru had her best showing of the season versus The Citadel with 11 kills while hitting .412.
 
Down two sets to the Bulldogs, the Spartans (0-11) came out of the break on fire in the third, scoring nine straight thanks in part to three service aces by junior Darcy Moore at the start of the run. The lead extended to 16-7 following two straight errors on The Citadel (5-8), which did chip away at the lead to get to within three at 20-17. The Spartans won the next three points on the way to winning that third set.
 
Tulensru had four straight kills as the Spartans won the first five points of the fourth set. The Bulldogs rallied to cut the deficit to one, 11-10, before they committed three straight errors. Tulensru had a kill and a block for a 17-14 edge, but the Bulldogs chipped away at the lead and grabbed it back at 21-20 after winning three straight. Tulensru kept NSU right in the thick of things before The Citadel's Megan Sowell had back-to-back kills to end the match.
 
The Spartans had a chance in the first stanza, taking the lead at 8-7 on a block by sophomore Dominique Parker and then stretching it to two at 11-9 following a service ace from senior Noelle Eagles. A 9-1 Bulldog run later in the set doomed NSU.
 
Freshman Clarke Tyler had two service aces to tie the score at 8-8 in the second set, and the Spartans stayed within one or two points as time wore on. A mini-run by the Bulldogs gave them a five-point edge that the Spartans were not able to overcome.
 
NSU committed 37 attack errors in the match, hitting .079 compared to .175 for The Citadel. The Spartans also had an 11-3 edge in service aces and a 54-35 lead in digs, although the Bulldogs have a sizeable advantage in blocks, 14-6.5.
 
South Carolina (8-2), meanwhile, played efficient ball to open up the tournament, hitting .308 with just eight attack errors. The Spartans fared well against a Southeastern Conference opponent with a .135 attack percentage.
 
Ten of Johnson's 18 kills came in a close third set. NSU, though, needed all of them coming back from a 13-5 deficit. Johnson had four kills alone during a 7-2 Spartan run. That cut the South Carolina lead to 15-12, but the Gamecocks went back up by five, 21-16.
 
Back-to-back kills by Johnson sparked NSU again, as South Carolina twice called timeout during a 5-1 run. A solo block by Forsythe got the Spartans to within one, 22-21. The Gamecocks then ended the Spartan rally by taking three of the last four points of the set for the match win.
 
Parker totaled 14 kills on the day, eight of those coming against South Carolina. Forsythe added six in that first match of the day.
 
Johnson started off the match with three kills within the first four serves, and NSU stayed close for a while. Johnson and senior Kylee Thiim combined for a block to make it 10-9 in favor of the Gamecocks before a 6-1 run gave them a six-point lead. A service ace by Eagles capped a short NSU run that got the Spartans to within three, but South Carolina won five of the last seven points to end the first set.
 
The Gamecocks jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second set. Back-to-back kills by Johnson a little later cut the deficit to three, but South Carolina went on a 6-0 run and closed the set by winning eight of the last nine points.
 
South Carolina had just a slight edge in digs (44-40), blocks (6-4) and service aces (3-2).
 
Moore finished with 35 assists and seven digs against the Gamecocks and 40 assists, 11 digs and four service aces versus the Bulldogs.
 
The Spartans will face Eastern Kentucky Saturday at 11 a.m. to close out their non-conference season.