NSU Volleyball Season Opening Weekend
NORFOLK, Va. – The official start of the overall 2016-17 season for the Norfolk State athletics department occurs this Friday when the Spartan volleyball team competes in the Virginia Tech/Radford Invitational. NSU will begin its 2016 campaign with two matches on Friday and then two more contests on the second day.
The Spartans will begin the tournament against UMBC on Friday at 2:30 p.m. at Radford and then stay there to face St. Francis Brooklyn at 7:30 p.m. The next day on Saturday, NSU plays Appalachian State at 10 a.m. at Virginia Tech before heading back down the road to take on Radford at 3 p.m.
During the last match, the host Highlanders will have
live stats as well as a
live video stream through the Big South Network. Radford will also have
live stats for NSU's matches against UMBC and St. Francis Brooklyn on Friday, and Virginia Tech will provide
the same for Norfolk State's contest on Saturday against Appalachian State.
Norfolk State Season Preview
NSU begins the season under new leadership after the promotion of
Dave Albaugh to the head coaching position. An assistant with the program the previous six years, Albaugh assumes the task of leading the Spartans back to the MEAC tournament after a two-year absence. He inherits a team that lost its four-year setter and top hitter from a year ago, but a team that also will have four seniors and four juniors among its eight returning players.
Two players who have made significant contributions in the past will be looking to bounce back from injury seasons. Redshirt senior
Jessica Johnson missed all of last year after serving as one of the Spartans' top hitters each of the previous three years. With more than 650 kills to her credit, the program will need Johnson to step up and become the team's top hitter again as NSU searches for a player to solidify the No. 2 hitter role.
Also looking to make a 100 percent return from the 'disabled list' is redshirt junior
Tori Tulensru. She played in just one match last year before suffering a season-ending injury. She averaged close to 1.50 kills per set over her first two seasons but is transitioning into a bigger role in the backcourt thanks to her defense.
Junior
Clarke Tyler ranked second last year with 1.81 kills per set while also leading the team with 51 blocks. NSU's best middle hitter and an occasional outside hitter, Tyler has been one of the team's most consistent players the last few years. She will be counted on to do even more this year with the loss of
Angie Darcus (3.23 kills per set in 2015).
Junior
Hope Forsythe needs to find that consistency after a pair of up-and-down seasons her first two years. A player with plenty of promise – she tallied 18 kills in a match against Morgan State last year – she finished with 1.56 kills per set as a sophomore. Another player with a strong arm, Forsythe's talent will need to shine as a complement to Johnson and the other hitters.
Senior Dominque Parker finished right behind Tyler with 1.78 kills per set and was also second on the team to Tyler with 37 total blocks last year. More of a true blocker/middle hitter, Parker will be key to NSU finishing a lot stronger at the net when it comes to its defense. She will also be counted on to provide plenty of offense for a team still trying to determine exactly how much production it will get from its experienced players.
The Spartans' third senior is
Sydney Dailey, a role player the last few seasons who made 11 starts in 2015. Dailey's role this year could very well depend on the push NSU gets from its 2016 recruiting class as well as well as how much Dailey can push the players above her on the so-called depth chart.
The Spartans' fourth and final senior is
Alex Irizarry, last year's starting libero who averaged a team-leading 2.89 digs per set. NSU's most experienced defensive player, she will be counted on again to anchor the defense as the team spends the preseason sorting out its rotation in the backcourt, an area very much up in the air right now with the other seven returners all frontcourt players.
The team's last returning player is redshirt junior and backup middle blocker
Uwem Etuk, who had 17 kills and six blocks last year while playing in approximately one-third of the team's total number of sets.
NSU currently has five active freshmen. One of those newcomers,
Jill Aquino, is in a battle to replace all-time assists leader
Darcy Moore. A 5-8 setter out of Stafford, Texas, Aquino showcased her athletic talents as she played softball and basketball in addition to volleyball during her career at Stafford High School. Both Irizarry and Tulensru could push Aquino for time at setter as well.
Freshman
Jessica Radford can play on the outside if needed but was also recruited to shore up NSU's blocking, which ranked 12
th out of 13 teams in the MEAC last season. The 5-9 outside hitter arrived at NSU from Warren, Mich., where she was a member of the all-city and all-regional teams her senior year at Renaissance High School. With NSU losing Johnson, Parker, Dailey and Etuk after this year, Radford will one of several youngsters who will be a building block for the future.
Two more options up front are freshmen
Ashley Patterson and
Daiysa Burrell. The 5-8 Patterson was a teammate of Aquino's at Stafford High School in Texas, where she was first-team all-district as a senior and second-team all-district her sophomore and junior years. Burrell hails from Upper Marlboro, Md., and was team MVP at Charles H. Flowers High School her last two years. Both players will add depth to the outside hitter positions, and Patterson could also see time in the backrow.
One more freshman will add depth in the backcourt in 5-7 defensive specialist
Destine Hooker. Hailing from Alexandria, Va., she was a 3.0 student while competing in volleyball at T.C. Williams High School. She also comes from a strong lineage, as both her dad and uncle played football at Norfolk State.
Up Next
NSU plays four matches over a three-day span during the UMES Courtyard Classic next weekend. The Spartans play MEAC Southern Division opponent South Carolina State and then American on Sept. 2, Navy on Sept. 3 and the host Hawks, members of the MEAC Northern Division, on Sept. 4. Neither contest against the two MEAC schools will count toward conference play.
