Box Score COLUMBIA, S.C. – Junior
Jessica Johnson tallied 16 kills in a losing effort as the Norfolk State volleyball team fell in its last non-conference match of the year, 3-0 to Eastern Kentucky at the Carolina Classic at South Carolina on Saturday morning.
Johnson, who emerged as the team's offensive leader through the first four weekends of the year, hit .303 and was also joined in double figures in kills by sophomore
Tori Tulensru with 10. The Spartans, though, fell by scores of 25-19, 28-26 and 25-22 to drop to 0-12 on the year.
The Colonels hit .330 as a team, with Rachel Vick and Celina Sanks combining for 23 kills. The Spartans attacked at a .173 clip at the Carolina Volleyball Center. Johnson was later named to the all-tournament team.
After Eastern Kentucky (10-6) pulled away in the first set, the Spartans struck back in the second. Johnson and senior
Kylee Thiim each had a pair of kills to give NSU a 9-2 lead. The Colonels immediately responded with a 10-2 run to grab the lead back, but the Spartans battled back and went ahead by one on a kill by Tulensru.
The teams went back and forth until NSU won three straight, capped by a service ace from sophomore
Sydney Dailey, for a 23-21 lead. NSU served for the set win three times, twice after Johnson threw down kills. But an attack error on Tulensru and two straight kills by Vick dashed NSU's hopes to tie the match up.
The Spartans did not fade, using a 6-1 run to grab an 8-6 lead early in the third set. A kill from sophomore
Dominique Parker gave the Spartans a three-point lead, an advantage they held again two more times thanks to kills from Johnson. Up 18-15, though, NSU let the lead slip away. The Spartans called timeout right before falling behind 22-20, and despite two kills from Tulensru, NSU was unable to avoid the sweep.
Thiim and Parker each had five kills on the day.
Tulensru kept NSU in the thick of things early in the first set, at one point giving the Spartans a 10-9 lead. A 7-1 run by Eastern Kentucky allowed the Colonels to surge ahead later in the opening stanza.
Eastern Kentucky had a 7-2 edge in blocks.
NSU will begin conference season next Friday at Hampton.
