ELON, N.C. – Norfolk State nearly took the second set win on Saturday afternoon in a contest against Gardner-Webb as part of the Phoenix Classic at Elon. The Bulldogs, though, came away with the 2-0 lead and cruised in the third set to sweep the Spartan volleyball team, 3-0, in NSU's final match of the tournament.
Prior to that contest, NSU could not shake the early morning doldrums, hitting in the negative in a 3-0 loss to Wofford. The Terriers won 25-21, 25-15 and 25-15.
Gardner-Webb, meanwhile, won the first set 25-18 and narrowly escaped in the second set, 27-25, after NSU had set serve. The Bulldogs had no trouble with NSU in the third, winning 25-8.
The Spartans struggled in both matches on offense, hitting in the negative against Wofford and .033 against Gardner-Webb in an early afternoon matchup. The Bulldogs (6-2) hit .212 and outscored the Spartans 12-3 in service aces. Norfolk State fell to 1-10 on the year.
Senior
Jessica Johnson had six kills in the second set, one NSU nearly took from Gardner-Webb before the Bulldogs rallied late.
The Spartans were all over them early on, jumping ahead by an 8-3 lead thanks in part to several errors on Gardner-Webb. The Bulldogs eventually cut the deficit to 12-10, but senior
Dominique Parker had two kills during a 5-0 run for the Spartans that stretched the lead to 17-10. A 4-0 Gardner-Webb run, followed later by five straight points, ultimately tied the match at 20-20.
Three straight errors on the Spartans put them in a 23-21 hole, but kills by Johnson and junior
Clarke Tyler and an error on Gardner-Webb put NSU ahead, 24-23. The Bulldogs saved the set, and after Tyler's kill again put the Spartans ahead by one, 25-24, Gardner-Webb scored three straight off NSU errors for the extra-point win and a 2-0 lead in the match.
Johnson finished with 10 kills in the match to lead all players. As a team, the Spartans totaled 25 kills for the afternoon as well as 22 errors.
NSU hit well in the first set, though. The Spartans erased an early 7-5 deficit and led by three at 12-9 after a kill from sophomore
Lexi Brown and an error on Gardner-Webb. Momentum completely changed after that point, as a 12-2 run for the Bulldogs pushed their lead to 21-14. NSU trailed by at least six the rest of the way.
The third set was all Gardner-Webb, which led 15-3 and 20-5 on the way to the 17-point final margin.
Junior
Melvina Brown had another solid match for NSU with 18 digs, while Parker added seven kills. Brown was later named to the all-tournament team.
Nicole Celarek (seven kills) and Emma Milstead (19 digs) paced the Bulldogs.
In the match against Wofford that began at 9 a.m., the Spartans had 19 kills but 25 errors for a -.064 attack percentage. The Terriers (4-5) hit .209 and really took control after NSU made them sweat late in the first set.
The Spartans only got to that point after losing seven of the first eight points of the match. NSU did not fall apart, slowly cutting into the deficit until three straight errors on Wofford cut its lead to 13-12. After a Terrier 6-1 run, the Spartans got kills from senior
Sydney Dailey and
Lexi Brown to eventually get to within two, 21-19. The teams traded points until a kill from Wofford's Alyse High closed out the first stanza.
The Terriers took control in the next two sets thanks to large runs in the middle. In the second, NSU actually trailed by just two at 11-9 after a block from Tyler and
Lexi Brown. An 11-2 run, though, allowed Wofford to double up the Spartans, 22-11. Only a late 4-1 run allowed NSU to keep the final deficit at 10.
An 8-1 run early in the third set had NSU in a hole fairly early. Down by seven, the Spartans were able to make it 14-10 after
Melvina Brown's service ace. They were unable, though, to score two straight the rest of the way as Wofford cruised to the win.
The Terriers hit .209 for the match, with Catie Cronister leading the way with eight kills and eight digs. Madeline Savage posted 16 digs to help Wofford post a 44-35 edge for the match.
Showing some early morning rust, each team had 12 service errors.
Lexi Brown and Johnson each had six kills to lead NSU, while
Melvina Brown tallied 13 digs.
NSU will not compete next weekend, but will instead face Coppin State and Morgan State in two weeks to start conference play.