NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State volleyball team got off to a big start on Friday night in a MEAC matchup against Howard at Gill Gymnasium. NSU rallied late to win the first set before Howard came back to top the Spartans by a final 3-1 margin.
Down by five, NSU stormed back to win the first set, 25-23. The Bison held off the Spartans in the second set, 25-21, before managing easier wins in the final two sets, 25-17 and 25-18.
Against the defending league champion, Norfolk State still played well, and senior Hope Forsythe played a big part. A strong start led to an eventual stat line of 15 kills on a .273 attack percentage with six digs.
Howard, though, hit .296 for the match. Jessica Young had 12 kills on 20 attacks, and Khaila Donaldson totaled 11 kills, four digs and three service aces.
Kira Porter added seven kills and five blocks, and Courtney Dalton tallied six kills and four blocks. The Bison held a 9-2 edge in blocks for the night.
NSU played best in the first two sets, including a second set in which the Spartans hit .250. But before getting there, NSU needed that first-set rally.
Howard led 10-3 to start, but a 6-1 run by the Spartans cut the deficit to two. They called timeout a little later down by five, and NSU still trailed by five at 22-17. But five straight errors on Howard, including three straight ball handling errors, tied the score at 22-22. Tied at 23-all, NSU benefitted from another ball handling error and then a blocking error on the Bison to cap the comeback.
Howard, though, hit .457 in the second set with just one attack error. The teams were close early on before the Bison won five of six points for a 13-9 lead. A kill by Forsythe cut the HU lead to 13-12, and Howard still led by just one at 17-16 after a service ace from NSU senior Melvina Brown. The Spartans, though, could not rally all the way back as Howard tied the match.
Howard's 9-0 run in the third set erased a 7-4 Spartan lead, and NSU got no closer than four the rest of the way after freshman Quiana Griffin had back-to-back kills to make the score 17-13.
In the fourth, Norfolk State got kills from senior Clarke Tyler and freshman Jannel Ezeagwu to tie the set up 8-8. A little later, a service ace from senior Tori Tulensru capped a 5-1 run and again tied the score, this time at 14-14. Howard, though, won five straight and eight of the next nine points to run away at the end.
Tyler finished with 10 kills, and Tulensru led the Spartans with 11 digs. Sophomore Jill Aquino totaled 38 assists and eight digs. After their strong start, the Spartans finished with a .105 attack percentage.
The Bison were called for nine ball handling errors altogether.
NSU will return to the court next Friday when the Spartans host Maryland Eastern Shore for Senior Night. The Spartan volleyball program will honor four of its departing players prior to the 6 p.m. match at Gill Gym.
