This Weekend

Friday	NSU at Coppin State	7 p.m.
Sunday	NSU at Morgan State	3 p.m.

NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State volleyball team will make a pair of trips to Baltimore this weekend when the Spartans play at Coppin State and Morgan State in conference play. NSU faces the Eagles on Friday at 7 p.m. at CSU's Physical Education Complex and then the Bears at 3 p.m. on Sunday at MSU's Hill Field House.
 
After defeating Delaware State last Sunday, NSU will look to keep the momentum going against a pair of foes that already defeated the Spartans earlier this year in Norfolk. NSU sits 2-16 overall and 1-4 in MEAC play. MSU (7-13, 4-2) and CSU (7-11, 4-3) are currently fighting for third and fourth place in the Northern Division.
 
NSU's 3-0 win over the Hornets had followed a pair of tight 3-2 losses against Morgan State and Hampton earlier in the year.
 
Senior Angie Darcus had a big weekend for NSU, finishing with 38 kills and 16 digs in the two matches against Hampton and DSU. She now leads the Spartans with 3.07 kills per set and 17 service aces on the year. She also ranks tied for third on the team with 2.06 digs. On offense, the next closest player is sophomore Hope Forsythe at 1.78 kills, with junior Dominique Parker (1.75), sophomore Clarke Tyler (1.67) and senior Janay Frazier (1.48) also chipping in.
 
Senior Darcy Moore, who recently passed 3,000 career assists, is averaging 8.24 this season. She also adds 2.24 digs, with junior Alex Irizarry tops among all players with 3.16. Parker and Tyler are tied for the team lead with 31 total blocks, although Parker has done so in 10 fewer sets played.
 
NSU does average more digs than its opponents (13.21-13.01), although the opposition continues to have a large edge in blocks over the Spartans (2.31-1.11) while also averaging slightly more than a kill per set more than NSU.
 
Last Time vs. CSU, MSU
In both teams' MEAC opener on Sept. 25, Coppin State won the first two sets over NSU at Joseph Echols Hall, 25-16 and 25-19, before narrowly winning the third set, 26-24, to sweep the Spartans by a 3-0 score. Two days later against Morgan State, the Bears won the last two sets to earn a 3-2 victory over the Spartans.
 
Moore set the school record with 57 assists against MSU, while Forsythe had 18 kills and 23 digs in a losing effort. The Spartans won 25-11 and 31-29 in the first and third sets, respectively, while MSU won the second, 25-22, and the final two sets by scores of 25-21 and 15-11.
 
Passing a Milestone
In last Sunday's win over DSU, Moore, who is already the school's leader in career assists, surpassed the 3,000 plateau. She also sits at exactly 700 career digs, and with another 27 on her resume, she will bump herself up to seventh place in career digs at NSU.
 
Darcus, meanwhile, has 465 career kills and needs 20 more to take over 10^th place on the Spartan all-time list.
 
MEAC Update
Howard has the edge in the North at 6-1, a half game ahead of UMES (5-1), whose only loss came at the hands of Howard. With Morgan State (4-2) and Coppin State (4-3) both ahead of NSU (1-4), Hampton (1-5) and Delaware State (0-5), the latter three have a steep uphill climb to reach the top 4 in the division and thus secure a spot in the MEAC tournament.
 
Morgan State and Coppin State also host Hampton on the opposite days of hosting NSU. In the rest of the North, Howard will welcome UMES to its home court on Friday before a trip to Delaware State on Sunday.
 
In the South, Bethune-Cookman (5-0) and Florida A&M (4-1) are both firmly entrenched at the top of the standings, with three of the other four schools in the division (South Carolina State, North Carolina Central, North Carolina A&T) all sitting at 2-3.
 
MEAC Rankings
A big weekend for Darcus moved her up to eighth in the MEAC in both kills (3.07) and points (3.46) per set. Moore is also sixth in assists (8.24), while Irizarry sits in 10^th in digs at 3.16.
 
As a team, NSU ranks fifth in service aces (1.28 per set) and sixth in assists (9.91) and digs (13.21). The Spartans also rank seventh in opponent hitting percentage (.230), ninth in hitting percentage (.116) and kills (10.49) and 12^th in blocks (1.11).
 
Series History
The win earlier this year improved Coppin State's record to 13-11 all-time against NSU, while Morgan State's victory pushed their series lead over the Spartans to 17-6.
 
About the Opposition
CSU defeated Morgan State last weekend to stay within a half game of the Bears. Coppin State has been led by Cindy Okpegbue (3.41 kills, 2.29 digs), with Samantha Polk (2.25 kills) and Kendra Ireigbe (1.93 kills) also adding some offense. Ireigbe also leads the team and ranks second in the league with 1.11 blocks.
 
Chelsee Sauni averages 8.95 assists, with Glorines Rosado tops among all players with 4.17 digs and 17 service aces. CSU averages less than a service ace per set, although the Eagles have the biggest advantage in blocks (1.75 compared to 1.63 for opponents).
 
After handing Howard its only MEAC defeat this year, MSU has lost momentum by dropping two of its last three matches, including the five-setter to Coppin State, to fall to third place in the North. The Bears have a balanced offensive attack, led by the threesome of Keana Browne (2.78 kills), Evely Macedo (2.68) and Arianna Hayden (2.59). Macedo and Hayden also add 2.40 and 2.00 digs per set, respectively, while Browne is tops among regular players with 0.58 blocks.
 
Carmen Fernandez has handed out 8.46 assists to go along with a team-best 25 service aces. Samantha Prescott, meanwhile, leads all players with 2.76 digs. Through 20 matches, Morgan State has compiled exactly one more service ace than opponents, who in turn have just seven more digs on the year than the Bears.
 
Up Next
NSU will host its last two matches of the year, beginning first with Howard on Oct. 30 at 6 p.m. at Joseph Echols Hall.