NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State sent its seniors out in style as the Spartan volleyball team closed out its 2019 season with a 3-0 win over South Carolina State on Sunday afternoon at Gill Gymnasium.
 
Senior Day for the Spartans was a rousing success, as they picked up their second win of the year. NSU took the match with scores of 25-18, 25-20 and 25-15 over the Bulldogs.
 
All eight seniors saw time on the court, with Bojana Bolozan leading the way with seven kills, six blocks and three aces. Fellow seniors Anna Rupertova, Halley McKnight and Daiysa Burrell each had six kills, with Rupertova and McKnight combining for 15 digs as well.
 
Jill Aquino added 10 assists and three digs. In addition, Jessica Radford ended her career with a pair of kills and three blocks, while Destine Hooker and Ashley Patterson also made appearances in the last match of their careers.
 
NSU ended its season at 2-23 overall, 2-13 in the MEAC. South Carolina State ended its campaign winless at 0-28, 0-14 in the league.
 
The Bulldogs led early in the match, up two midway through the first set. McKnight had a pair of kills, and Bolozan also had a pair as NSU went ahead. Bolozan added a pair of aces, and junior Jannel Ezeagwu later had a pair of kills as part of a 13-4 run to close out the opening set.
 
The Spartans had the edge in the second, getting aces from Aquino and Patterson and kills from Rupertova and Bolozan as they eventually took a four-point edge, 14-10. The Bulldogs made a run, getting kills from three different players to tie the score at 18-18. But the Spartans won four in a row, highlights by a kill and two blocks from Radford. Hooker added an ace near the end as well.
 
Up 8-6 in the third, NSU won seven of the next nine points for a 15-7 advantage. Burrell had a block and a kill during that time, and later four straight errors by S.C. State made it 20-10. The Bulldogs won the next four, but Bolozan eventually had a block and a kill for the last two points of the season.
 
Bolozan and McKnight combined for 13 kills on 32 errorless swings. They helped NSU finish with a .300 attack percentage. NSU also held a 7-0 advantage in aces and an 8-3 edge in blocks.
 
For the Bulldogs, Alexus Holt had 15 kills but also 10 attack errors. The Bulldogs hit .125 for the afternoon.
 
Five of NSU's eight seniors were four-year players. Aquino finished her career fourth all-time at NSU with 1,544 assists as well as tied for 15^th with 89 matches played. She also totaled 394 digs, 52 aces, 38 kills and 24 blocks. Burrell played in 143 sets over 60 matches, finishing with 124 kills, 48 digs, 22 blocks, nine assists and six aces.
 
Radford, Patterson and Hooker also played all four years. In 81 sets over 41 matches, Radford totaled 39 kills, 29 blocks, 20 digs, an assists and an ace. Patterson piled up 95 digs, 16 aces, 12 assists and eight kills in 44 matches played, while Hooker had six digs, three aces and two kills in 19 matches.
 
McKnight, Bolozan and Rupertova all played two seasons after arriving from Odessa College. McKnight ended her career 11^th with 342 assists while totaling 250 digs, 66 kills, 45 aces and 12 blocks. She came into the day eighth in the MEAC and top 90 in the nation in aces per set.
 
Rupertova, who redshirted her first year at NSU due to injury, totaled 337 kills in her two seasons with the Spartans as she led the team both years. She also contributed 233 digs, 27 blocks, 14 aces and 14 assists. She was twice named to an all-tournament team as a junior while earning the Team MVP award.
 
Bolozan ended her career seventh all-time at NSU with a .242 hitting percentage as well as 10^th in blocks assists (105), 11^th in total blocks (141) and 15^th in solo blocks (36). She also totaled 262 kills, 82 digs, 46 aces and 19 assists. She came into the day third in the MEAC in blocks per set.