NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State volleyball team took a pair of losses on Saturday during the second day of the Radford Invitational, 3-0 to both Rider and Toledo at the Dedmon Center.
 
In an early morning match, Rider came out victorious 25-12, 25-19 and 25-12. Toledo later won a mid-afternoon contest with the Spartans via scores of 25-17, 25-22 and 25-11.
 
Junior Jannel Ezeagwu totaled six kills on 11 swings, and fellow junior Taylor Eichelberger added five kills on nine attacks to lead the Spartans against Rider (1-6). Junior Quiana Griffin posted seven kills in the setback to Toledo (4-2).
 
NSU fell to 0-5 on the season.
 
Senior Jill Aquino had a double-double of 14 assists and 10 digs, and freshman Myleah Carter had a team-high 15 digs against Toledo. The match started off well, as NSU led 8-2 in the early going thanks in part to a pair of kills each from Griffin and junior Julisa Carrizosa.
 
Toledo began to pull ahead, first on a 5-0 run and then later thanks to an 8-0 spurt. They were part of a larger 16-3 stretch, and the Rockets went ahead by as much as nine in the late stages.
 
Griffin had two kills early in the second set, and NSU led by one at 6-5 after a service ace from senior Halley McKnight. The lead for the Spartans was two at 15-13 after another ace from Aquino, and then 17-15 after kills from McKnight and Griffin. They still held a two-point advantage after another kill from Griffin made it 19-17.
 
The Rockets scored the next three points, but a pair of errors on Toledo put NSU ahead 22-21. Following a timeout, the Rockets won the last four points of the set. Griffin had five kills in the set.
 
Toledo led 8-2 to start the third set and never looked back. The Rockets hit .316 for the match and were led by Liz Beasley (seven kills) and Zoe Birnbrich and Ryann Jaqua (six kills each).
 
NSU began the day against the Broncs and hit a season-best .141. Rider jumped out to a quick start in the first set, but NSU was on top early in the second. A 4-1 run, capped by a block from Eichelberger and sophomore Makenzy Johnson, put the Spartans ahead 9-5.
 
Rider tied the score at 10-all, but NSU got a block and a kill from senior Bojana Bolozan for a 1
 
Rider tied the score at 10-all, but NSU got a block and a kill from Bolozan for a 14-11 edge. But a few serves later, the Broncs started an 8-0 run that pushed them ahead by five. NSU was within three late in the set after an ace from Bolozan before Rider won the last three points.
 
A big 9-0 run to start the third set gave Rider all the cushion it would need. NSU did win five in a row to make it 11-7, but the Broncs ultimately closed the match on a 12-3 run. Morgan Romano led the way with 14 kills for Rider. Anilee Sher added 23 assists with six aces.
 
Rider finished the match with a .304 attack percentage and held a 12-3 advantage in aces.
 
NSU will host American on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Gill Gymnasium before heading to East Carolina next weekend for the Pirate Invitational.