Box Score WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Gardner-Webb overcame an early 1-0 deficit to take down the Norfolk State volleyball team on Saturday afternoon by a 3-1 score at Kaplan Arena.
 
The second day of the Tribe Invitational saw the Spartans come out on fire, less than 24 hours after NSU had to rebound from a slow start in its season opener. This time against Gardner-Webb in an early afternoon matchup, the Spartans hit .200 in the first set to win, 25-17. The Bulldogs rallied to triumph in the second set, 25-22, and then earned the victory with wins in the third and fourth sets, 25-15 and 25-20.
 
Gardner-Webb (2-0) exploited a pair of weaknesses against the Spartans, holding an 11-2 edge in blocks over NSU while also posting a big advantage in service ace, 14-4. This despite the fact Gardner-Webb hit just .083 with 35 kills, compared to .108 and 43 kills for NSU (0-2).
 
Seniors Angie Darcus and Janay Frazier did plenty of damage for the Spartans. Darcus led NSU with 13 kills to go with a career-high 15 digs. Frazier, meanwhile, also set a new career high with 13 digs and added 11 kills while hitting .182.
 
It did not take long for the Spartans to assert themselves, as NSU won the first five points of the match and then later won five straight again for an 11-3 lead. A kill by junior Dominique Parker a little later started an 8-3 run, capped by two straight kills by Darcus.
 
Down 21-9, the Bulldogs attempted a comeback after winning the next four points. NSU eventually called timeout after Gardner-Webb made it 24-17 on a service ace, but senior setter Darcy Moore knocked home a kill to finish the first set.
 
The Bulldogs hit -.182 in the first stanza.
 
Down 5-1 in the second set, NSU won seven straight, including three points off ball handling errors on Gardner-Webb's Justine Bowers. A short time later, the Spartans knocked down four straight kills to extend their lead to 13-7.
 
The Bulldogs chipped away at the deficit and eventually tied it up at 17-17. Darcus had a kill and a service ace to put Norfolk State back in the lead at 20-17, and Parker's kill made it 22-19 several serves later. Gardner-Webb did not back down, winning the last six points of the set to stun NSU.
 
The Spartans held an early lead in the third set and were still tied at 10-10, but Gardner-Webb took control from there. An 8-0 Bulldog run put the Spartans into a nine-point hole that proved too much.
 
In the fourth set, NSU had to call timeout down 8-4, but two attack errors on Gardner-Webb finished a 6-2 spurt for the Spartans to tie it up at 10-all. From there, though, the Bulldogs pulled away. NSU got as close as 17-15 on a service ace by junior Alex Irizarry, but Gardner-Webb eventually took the final set by five.
 
Moore gave NSU its third double-double of the match with 35 assists and 17 digs. Junior Sydney Dailey set a new career high with 11 digs, while sophomore Clarke Tyler totaled eight kills on a .286 hitting percentage.
 
No player had more than seven kills for the Bulldogs, who used 14 players throughout the match.
 
NSU faces host William & Mary at 7 p.m. on Saturday to close out the tournament.