EASTON, Pa. – The Norfolk State volleyball team began its 2017 season in the Crosstown Invitational hosted by Lafayette and Lehigh, where the Spartans fell to Saint Francis (Pa.) by a 3-0 score on Friday afternoon at the Kirby Sports Center at Lafayette.
 
The two squads played relatively even, with the Red Flash winning by scores of 25-18, 25-17 and 25-22. Despite having the same number of kills as Saint Francis (2-2), NSU was done in thanks to 10 more attack errors.
 
The Spartans hit .108 compared to .208 to the Red Flash. Both teams had 34 kills for the afternoon.
 
Freshman Taylor Eichelberger led NSU with 10 kills, while fellow rookie Clara Kick added seven kills on just 12 swings without an error.
 
The Spartans were forced to overcome a slow start, in which they fell behind by an 18-8 score in the first set. An 8-3 run helped NSU get to within five at 22-17, but the momentum did not carry over to the second set. The Spartans used both of their timeouts before eventually falling behind 14-8.
 
Behind a couple of kills each from Eichelberger and senior Hope Forsythe, NSU made a slight push before Forsythe got going in the third. She had three straight kills early in that final set for a 6-4 lead. Amelia Metzler had two straight service aces to put the Red Flash back ahead by two, and the teams battled from there.
 
Senior Clarke Tyler had a couple of kills as NSU took the lead one last time at 17-16. A couple of errors on Saint Francis tied it up at 19-19 a short time later, but the Red Flash scored the next two and held off the Spartans during the last part of the third set.
 
Christa White had two kills late in the set and finished with 10 to lead Saint Francis. Emily Marcinowski also added 10, while Metzler totaled 23 assists, 12 digs and four service aces. She directed an offense that committed just 12 attack errors and held a 6-2 advantage in service aces over NSU.
 
Forsythe had 11 assists and seven kills for the Spartans, and freshman Quiana Griffin came off the bench to tally 17 assists. Seniors Melvina Brown (20) and Tori Tulensru (18) led all players in digs.
 
The Spartans will turn around and play three matches on Saturday. Up first will be a contest against host Lafayette at 10 a.m. NSU then travels over to Lehigh to play Central Connecticut State at 1 p.m. and the host Mountain Hawks at 4.