VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – South Carolina State pulled out a five-set win on Saturday, and North Carolina A&T had little trouble with the Norfolk State volleyball team later in the day as the Spartans suffered a pair of losses during the second day of the MEAC North-South Challenge at Tidewater Volleyball Center.
 
Alexus Holt and Brianna Dafney combined for 41 kills to lead South Carolina State (1-11) in a morning matchup with NSU. The Spartans earned a first-set win, 25-23, before the Bulldogs came back to win the next two, 25-19 and 25-20. The Spartans were able to hold them off in the fourth set in extra points, 27-25, but the Bulldogs came out on fire in the fifth and won 15-11.
 
In the second match of the day for NSU, a mid-afternoon contest against North Carolina A&T (7-9), the Aggies had little trouble in winning 25-21, 25-17 and 25-13.
 
The Spartans (3-10) got a solid effort on offense from senior Clarke Tyler against S.C. State, as she finished with 14 kills and hit .609 for the match. It marked one of the best hitting percentages an NSU player has ever had in its Division I history.
 
Senior Hope Forsythe and freshman Taylor Eichelberger each had 15 kills as well. The Spartans attacked at a .161 clip. Tyler and Forsythe were later named to the all-tournament team.
 
The Bulldogs, however, hit .202 and held a large advantages in blocks (12-4) and service aces (11-6).
 
It was a match of runs early on, and those runs were instrumental in what was a 2-1 score in favor of the Bulldogs after three sets. It all began with the Spartans winning seven straight early in the first set before S.C. State won seven of the next eight for an 11-9 lead. Then immediately after that, the Spartans got kills from several different players during a 9-2 run.
 
Ahead 18-13, NSU could not hold on as S.C. State won five in a row and then later four of five for a 22-21 lead. Kills from Eichelberger and Forsythe gave the Spartans the lead back, and two errors on the Bulldogs finished the set for NSU.
 
The second stanza did not start so well for Norfolk State, with an 8-0 Bulldog run digging a big hole. The Spartans never got closer than four, and only a 4-0 run for NSU late in the match ultimately kept the score within six.
 
The third set featured much back and forth until things really got interesting in the latter stages. Up by two twice thanks to kills from Forsythe each time, NSU saw that lead disappear before winning four straight for a 19-17 edge.
 
Unfortunately for the Spartans, S.C. State got on a roll, winning seven of the last eight points for the 2-1 edge.
 
The fourth set got really interesting late, especially because the Spartans had led from 6-5 on. Only one time after that point did the Bulldogs even get to within one, at least until after they were down 24-21. A kill and a pair of blocks for them tied the score at 24-all, but kills from NSU freshman Jannel Ezeagwu and sophomore Ashley Patterson on back-to-back plays kept the match alive.
 
It was not to be, however, as NSU dropped six of the first seven points in the fifth set. The Spartans were able to cut the deficit to two at 13-11 after winning four of five points, but two more of their errors gave S.C. State the win.
 
Jenai King tallied 43 assist and 11 digs, one of four players in double figures in digs for S.C. State. Ashante Finnie totaled six blocks, with Marcella Chestnut and Desiree Walker each adding four for the Bulldogs.
 
For NSU, junior Melvina Brown tallied 19 digs, and Patterson posted a career-high 16. She also had three of the team's six service aces.
 
No player reached double figures in kills for either NSU or N.C. A&T in the afternoon matchup. The Aggies did hit .384 with just eight attack errors, while the Spartans had 24 miscues on a .089 attack percentage.
 
Camille Uadiale had seven blocks, and Alyssa Pitt added five as the Aggies held a 10-3 advantage for the match. Samara Brown led the way with nine kills.
 
Forsythe and Tyler each totaled seven kills for the Spartans.
 
Norfolk State stayed close in the first set, even after a 4-0 run for the Aggies gave them a 9-5 lead. The Spartans slowly cut into the advantage, first getting to within one at 13-12 on kills from Forsythe, Tyler and sophomore Daiysa Burrell.
 
NSU still trailed by one after back-to-back kills from Tyler made it 15-14, but the Aggies slowly pulled ahead from there.
 
The second set started 5-0 in favor of N.C. A&T before the Spartans battled all the way back to tie it at 7-7. Aggie runs of 5-0 and 6-0 really proved to be the difference as the set wore on.
 
A 9-0 North Carolina A&T run, which came right after the Spartans went ahead 6-5, proved too much for NSU to overcome in the third.
 
NSU will host Coppin State next Friday at 6 p.m. at Gill Gymnasium for its first official MEAC match of the season.