Norfolk State Volleyball on the Road

Friday, Oct. 6	NSU at Maryland Eastern Shore	6 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 8	NSU at Delaware State	3 p.m.

NORFOLK, Va. – After a rough start in the opening weekend of MEAC play, the Norfolk State volleyball team will look to regroup this weekend on the road. The Spartans begin the next round of conference matches at Maryland Eastern Shore on Friday and at Delaware State on Sunday.
 
Both live stats and live video will be available for Friday's match at MDES, set for a 6 p.m. start at the W.P. Hytche Athletic Center. There will also be live stats and live video available for Sunday's contest at DSU, set to begin at 3 p.m. at DSU's Memorial Hall.
 
Friday will also mark the start of a stretch in which the Spartans play three matches in five days. In addition to the two conference contests, Norfolk State will also travel to William & Mary next Tuesday for a 7 p.m. non-conference match. Live stats and live video will be available for that as well, NSU's last non-conference competition of the season.
 
The Spartans (3-12, 0-2 MEAC) face a tall task on Friday in trying to pick up their first MEAC win of the season. Maryland Eastern Shore comes into the weekend sporting a 14-6 overall record, by far the best in the league. The Hawks stand 1-0 in the conference, and that win was a big one. They topped two-time defending league champion Howard by a 3-2 margin last Friday at home.
 
MDES won 29-27 and 25-23 in the first two sets before Howard showed what it is capable of with 25-13 and 25-15 wins in the next two. The Hawks were able to take set five, 15-11, setting up a huge rematch later this month at Howard.
 
Sunday's match against DSU will be the complete opposite. Delaware State owns a 0-16 record, 0-1 in the conference after a loss last weekend to Howard. The Hornets have only won three sets all year, although one did come against Maryland Eastern Shore in a non-conference match in mid-September.
 
MEAC Standings
Hampton technically owns the top spot in the MEAC North right now at 2-0 after defeating Coppin State and Morgan State last weekend at home. MDES (1-0), Howard (2-1) and Coppin State (1-1) are next up.
 
Morgan State (1-2), NSU (0-2) and DSU (0-1) round out the early season standings as well.
 
NSU Update
The Spartans fell 3-1 to Coppin State last Friday and 3-2 to Morgan State on Sunday, both at home, to start conference play. NSU won the first set over the Eagles before they came back to take the next three. The Bears, meanwhile, nearly came away with a sweep before the Spartans won sets three and four. A bad start to the fifth set for NSU allowed Morgan State to pull out the win.
 
Senior Clarke Tyler has carried NSU lately on offense, and she currently ranks second in kills per set at 2.02, having closed the gap between her and freshman Taylor Eichelberger (2.14). Senior Hope Forsythe (1.78) and freshmen Jazmine Craig (1.65) and Clara Kick (1.33) will also get in on the action.
 
Tyler's Surge
Tyler has been a huge part of the offense lately. During the past two weekends – five matches altogether – the senior has hit .451 and averaged 2.77 kills per set. She had a career-high 19 kills on Sunday against Morgan State and was in double figures in four of those five matches.
 
During that same time period, the rest of the team is hitting just .037.
 
MEAC Rankings
Tyler's big play recently has moved her up to fifth in the MEAC in hitting percentage at .299. Senior Melvina Brown ranks fourth in digs (3.79) and fifth in service aces (0.41), while Kick finds herself seventh in blocks (0.79).
 
As a team, NSU ranks highest in both hitting percentage (.198) and service aces (1.38), both numbers putting the Spartans fourth in the MEAC. In every other category, they rank eighth: hitting percentage (.111), assists (9.39), kills (9.98), blocks (1.57) and digs (12.25).
 
National Marks
NSU ranks highest in service aces, sitting 110^th in the nation (out of 329 teams) with 1.38 per set. The Spartans are also 156^th in opponent hitting percentage (.198).
 
Brown is the only player ranked in the individual standings. She sits No. 62 in aces per set (0.41) after tying her career best with six aces against Morgan State.
 
Up Next
Following the Tuesday match at William & Mary, the Spartans will play just one match next weekend. After having Friday the 13^th off, Norfolk State will travel to Howard for a Sunday contest at 3 p.m. at HU's Burr Gymnasium on Oct. 15.