JMU Invitational

Friday	NSU vs. North Carolina Central	5 p.m.	Live Stats
Saturday	NSU vs. Georgetown	Noon	Live Stats
	NSU at James Madison	7 p.m.	Live Stats

NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State volleyball team will finish out non-conference play this weekend when the Spartans take part in the JMU Invitational on Friday and Saturday at James Madison.
 
NSU will face North Carolina Central on Friday at 5 p.m., followed by contests on Saturday against Georgetown at noon and versus host James Madison at 7 p.m. at JMU's Sinclair Gymnasium.
 
Live stats will be available for all three matches through www.JMUSports.com or the links at the top of the page.
 
The Spartans (1-9) will look to pick up at least one more victory before beginning conference play next weekend. North Carolina Central is still looking for its first win this year, sitting at 0-13 so far on the season. Georgetown carries a 4-6 record into the weekend, while JMU stands at 7-3.
 
Senior Angie Darcus (3.00) is still the only player for NSU averaging at least two kills per set. The foursome of sophomores Hope Forsythe (1.76) and Clarke Tyler (1.61), junior Dominque Parker (1.42) and senior Janay Frazier (1.38) complement Darcus on offense. Along with leading the team in kills, she also has a team-best 13 service aces on the year.
 
Senior Darcy Moore averages 7.42 assists and also chips in with 2.66 digs. Junior Alex Irizarry ranks first with 3.34 digs, with both Darcus (2.16) and Forsythe (2.00) also adding to the mix. Tyler and Parker, with 16 and 13 total blocks, respectively, are the team's top blockers.
 
The Spartans have the slight edge over opponents in digs (13.61-13.18) but have been outpaced in blocks (2.50-1.00).
 
MEAC Update
Darcus sits seventh in the league in points per set (3.49), as well as eighth in kills (3.00) and ninth in service aces (0.34). Other players in the top 10 include Parker (5^th in service aces, 0.38), Moore (7^th in assists, 7.42) and Irizarry (10^th in digs, 3.34).
 
As a team, the Spartans rank fourth in digs (13.61), fifth in service aces (1.37), sixth in opponent hitting percentage (.236), 10^th in hitting percentage (.083) and assists (8.92) and 11^th in kills (9.55) and blocks (1.00).
 
Maryland Eastern Shore continues to lead the conference, posting a 10-0 record on the year. No other program has more than two wins, with five schools still searing for their first victory so far this season.
 
Getting Closer
Darcy Moore is now less than 300 assists from reaching 3,000 for her career. She also recently moved into eighth in career digs at NSU, and at 649 she is less than 100 from moving up to seventh.
 
Series History
James Madison has claimed victories in all six meetings with NSU, including the first in 2004 and most recently to open the 2014 season at JMU.
 
North Carolina Central owns a 13-9 record against the Spartans, with a good portion of those matches coming during the teams' CIAA days. The two squads met most recently in 2012 in the MEAC tournament, a 3-2 win for the Spartans.
 
NSU has never faced Georgetown.
 
About the Opponents
North Carolina Central came closest to a victory in 3-2 loss to Wake Forest on Sept. 4 and a 3-2 setback to Loyola on Sept. 12. The Eagles also fell by a 3-1 score to Alabama State, a team NSU defeated last weekend, 3-2, at the Spartan-Aggie Invitational. Kelsey Murphy leads the MEAC in kills with 3.73 per set, with Sydney Sumner (2.23) and Kelly Rossip (2.18). Casey Curran and Paige Phillips have split time at setter, while Rossip (0.44 blocks) and Tamika Brekke (3.75 digs) lead the way on defense. Opponents have a big edge over N.C. Central in service aces (2.2-0.9) and blocks (2.6-1.0) per set.
 
Georgetown owns wins over MEAC Northern Division foes Howard (3-2) and Morgan State (3-0) as well as against the SEC's Georgia (3-1). Alyssa Sinnette leads all players with 3.79 kills, although the Hoyas do spread the wealth among Symone Speech (2.82), Liv King (2.24) and Ashlie Williams (2.21) as well. Paige McKnight has tallied 9.61 assists and 0.53 service aces, both team-leading totals, in directing an offense that scores nearly two more kills per set than the opposition.
 
Kenzie Higareda has more than doubles the number of kills per set (4.82) than the next closest teammate, with Speech nearly doing the same with blocks (0.87). As a team, though, Georgetown has been outblocked by a 2.32-1.34 per set margin.
 
James Madison has only fallen to Florida, Connecticut and Villanova this year, while also defeating Howard by a 3-0 score last Friday. Janey Goodman owns a team-leading 3.97 kills per set average, with the rest of the damage done mostly by Bryan Recker (2.91) and Meghan Niski (2.00). Recker also tallies 0.54 service aces for an offense led by Sarah Patterson (9.69 assists).
 
The Dukes own the biggest advantage over their opponents in blocks (2.37-1.54) and digs (15.97-14.83). Hanna Radhi (1.15 blocks), Taylor Gail (0.92) and Goodman (0.88) provide solid defense at the net, while Taylor Austin carries the backcourt defense with 5.29 digs.
 
Up Next
NSU begins the MEAC portion of its season on Sept. 25 and 27 at home. The Spartans host Coppin State on the 25^th at 6 p.m., followed by a matchup with Morgan State on the 27^th at 3 p.m., both at Joseph Echols Hall.