EASTON/BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The freshmen duo of Taylor Eichelberger and Jazmine Craig combined for 24 kills to lead Norfolk State volleyball to a 3-1 win over Lafayette on Saturday morning in the Crosstown Invitational.
 
Later in the day at Lehigh, NSU fell in a pair of matches by 3-0 scores to Central Connecticut State and Lehigh to close out the tournament.
 
The match against Lafayette at the Kirby Sports Center saw the Spartans rally after dropping the first set by a 25-23 score. NSU came back to top the Leopards by scores of 25-23, 25-18 and 25-21. Eichelberger hit .219 with 13 kills to lead the offense, while Craig posted 11 kills on a .417 hitting percentage. Not to be outdone, freshman Clara Kick tallied seven kills, six digs and four blocks.
 
The Spartans hit .202 for the match and held Lafayette (1-3) to just a .088 attack percentage. NSU closed out the day with a 1-3 record.
 
Norfolk State nearly rallied to win the first set, going on a late 6-1 run to erase a five-point lead. Kick ended the run with a kill to tie the score at 21-21, but the Leopards got kills on the next two plays to take the lead for good. NSU was able to build a 13-5 lead in the second set, only to watch Lafayette come all the way back and take a 21-19 advantage for a 10-point swing. Craig, though, had a couple of kills and a block to spark a 6-2 run to close the set for NSU.
 
The highlight of the day came late in the third set, when NSU faced a 17-12 deficit. Behind five service aces from senior Melvina Brown, the Spartans went on a 13-1 run to close out the stanza for a 2-1 lead. Then in the third, they jumped ahead 8-4 and never let Lafayette get closer than two the rest of the way.
 
Brown had six aces and 17 digs for the match. Senior Tori Tulensru totaled 13 digs, and senior Hope Forsythe and freshman Quiana Griffin combined for 37 assists.
 
The teams combined for 31 service errors. NSU held an 8-3 advantage in blocks.
 
At Lehigh's Leeman-Turner Arena, Eichelberger had 11 kills in the team's loss to Central Connecticut State in the afternoon by scores of 25-17, 25-21 and 25-20. The Blue Devils (4-2) attacked at a .261 clip compared to .126 for NSU.
 
Runs of 5-0 and 9-1 for the Blue Devils highlighted a momentum-swinging first set for both teams. The Spartans scored three straight at one point in the second set to get to within 11-10, but they were forced to play catch up the rest of the way and could not finish. Eichelberger helped get them to within two late before succumbing.
 
Central Connecticut State posted a 10-point lead in the third set, and only a 6-0 run for NSU a little later helped get the score down to an eventual five-point final margin.
 
Forsythe added eight kills and 14 assists.
 
Lehigh (4-3) had a much easier time against the Spartans, topping them by scores of 25-21, 25-10 and 25-17. The Mountain Hawks hit nearly .300 and almost doubled the amount of kills the Spartans had.
 
NSU had chances in the first set, but 6-0 and 5-0 runs for the Mountain Hawks were too much to overcome. After getting to within one at 11-10 in between those two runs, the Spartans again came close near the end, getting a kill and block from Kick to cap a 5-1 run. Down 21-20 still, NSU could not get any closer.
 
Only once in the second set did NSU score two straight points. A late 7-1 run in the third helped Lehigh pull away there as well.
                                                                                                                                               
Craig had seven kills to lead NSU. Kick added six blocks after posting four in the previous match. She had 14 for the day. Junior Lexi Brown also added five blocks against Lehigh as the Spartans finished with nine for the second straight match.
 
Norfolk State travels to Elon for the Phoenix Classic next weekend.