NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State volleyball team will make a big road trip this weekend to play two matches in Baltimore in what is shaping up to be a key stretch for NSU. The Spartans will take on Coppin State and Morgan State looking for a win or two to keep their MEAC tournament hopes alive.
 
The Spartans play at CSU on Friday at 7 p.m., followed by a contest at MSU on Sunday at 3 p.m. Coppin State and Morgan State will have live video available through their websites for their matches against Norfolk State.
 
Friday's match will be extremely key for the Spartans. At 1-4, they sit a game behind Coppin State (2-3) in the standings at the midway point of conference play. CSU is currently fourth in the Northern Division, and the top four teams from each division advance to the tournament.
 
Howard (5-0), Morgan State (4-1) and Maryland Eastern Shore (3-2) own the top three spots. A loss to CSU would force NSU to have to win most likely three of its last four conference matches, which are against the top three teams in the division along with Delaware State (0-5). Coppin State and Morgan State have already beaten NSU earlier this year.
 
In the South, North Carolina A&T (4-1), Florida A&M (2-1), Bethune-Cookman (3-2) and North Carolina Central (2-3) own the top four spots as well.
 
The Spartans have a 2-13 overall record, while Coppin State carries a 7-18 mark into this weekend. Morgan State currently sits 12-10 heading into its Friday night match against Howard, with the Bison owning the top overall record in the league at 13-9. MSU has won seven of its last nine, including a win over Maryland Eastern Shore in its last MEAC match on Oct. 14 to jump into second in the division.
 
Rankings
NSU still ranks fifth in the league in service aces per set at 1.50. Junior Halley McKnight now stands second in the league with 0.41 aces per set, percentage points behind Morgan State's Roi Wallace, also at 0.41.
 
Junior Bojana Bolozan ranks fifth in hitting percentage at .255, and the Spartans are eighth in the league as a team in hitting percentage (.133). They are also ninth in kills (9.33) and assists (8.40), 10^th in blocks (1.25) and digs (10.79) and 11^th in opponent hitting percentage (.287).
 
McKnight also ranks 53^rd in the nation in aces per set, with freshman Makenzy Johnson (0.34) and Bolozan (0.33) also in the top 150.
 
Opponent Information
Two players for Coppin State have been big on offense, including Miajavon Coleman (3.55 kills per set) and Asia Stennis (2.72). Coleman also hits .237 while ranking fifth in the MEAC in kills. The next most significant contributor is Lauryn Harrell (1.65), with Brianna Lang controlling it all to the tune of 8.59 assists.
 
Stennis is one of three players who averages at least two digs per set, and Chelsie Kolibar is tops among all players at 2.89.  Christa Johnson (0.71) and Jordan Celestine (0.63) are the team's top two blockers.
 
For Morgan State, Cristen Coryatt (3.65 kills per set), Zoe McBride (3.17) and Kalysia Bates (2.58) all can carry the Bears on offense. All three also hit at least .199, with Bates at .303. Not surprisingly, MSU leads the conference in hitting percentage at .222. Wallace is the league's top setter with 10.21 assists.
 
She also has the slight edge over McKnight for the league lead in service aces (0.41). McBride is not too far behind (0.39) either. Coryatt, McBride and Wallace also tally at least 2.40 digs per set, while Jasmin Hubbard leads the way at 3.73. Bates (0.86 blocks) and Monette Daniels (0.78) do the heavy lifting at the net.
 
Up Next
NSU will play at Hampton next Tuesday beginning at 6 p.m. to close out a non-conference home-and-home this season with the Pirates. The Spartans play their last home matches of the year on Nov. 2 and 4 against Maryland Eastern Shore and Delaware State, respectively.