GREENVILLE, N.C. – The Norfolk State volleyball team ended its time at the Pirate Invitational on Saturday afternoon with a 3-0 loss to East Carolina at Williams Arena.
 
The Spartans inched closer and closer as the match wore on, as ECU won 25-15, 25-19 and 25-22. NSU shrank the gap late in the latter two sets before coming up short in the end.
 
Senior Anna Rupertova hit .385 with 12 kills to lead the way for Norfolk State (0-9), which hit a season-best .184 for the afternoon. Senior Bojana Bolozan and juniors Taylor Eichelberger and Julisa Carrizosa each finished with five kills as well.
 
ECU (7-1) trailed 8-7 early in the first set, but the Pirates later won seven in a row as part of an 11-2 run to surge ahead. NSU, however, made the scores closer at the end of the next two sets.
 
The Pirates jumped out to a 10-6 lead in the second set, and eventually 14-8 after two straight kills. Their advantage was seven at 20-13 before NSU got kills from three different players to make it 20-17. Kills by Carrizosa and Eichelberger got the Spartans to within four late.
 
NSU twice looked to rally in the last set. After falling behind by an 11-3 margin, the Spartans won five in a row. Carrizosa had two aces at the end to make it 11-8. Still, the Pirates opened up an 18-10 advantage before Norfolk State again closed the gap.
 
Bolozan had three kills during a five-serve stretch, and an ace from junior Jazmine Craig got them to within three at 19-16. Carrizosa had a block and a kill during a 5-0 run that tied the score at 21-all. It was still tied at 22 after Eichelberger's last kill of the day, but two kills and a block by the Pirates put the match away.
 
Freshman Myleah Carter (16 digs) and senior Halley McKnight (14 digs) led the backcourt defense for the Spartans.
 
Bri Wood totaled 12 kills and 14 digs for ECU, while Natalie Tyson and Toya Osuegbu combined for 17 kills. The Pirates hit .291 – both teams had 13 attack errors – while ECU had just four service errors to 11 for the Spartans.
 
NSU will be off next week before hitting the road to open MEAC play on Sept. 27 and 29 at Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman, respectively.