NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State hung with Virginia Commonwealth throughout much of the first two sets before the Rams handed the NSU volleyball team a 3-0 loss on Friday afternoon at Joseph Echols Hall.
 
The Spartans held a two-point lead in the latter stages of the first set before VCU closed it out on a run for a 25-19 win. NSU was within one point of sending the second set to extra points before the Rams were able to come away with a 25-23 victory there too. They then went on to take the third set from NSU, 25-13.
 
Norfolk State (1-1) received another solid defensive effort from junior libero Nicole Rodriguez, the reigning MEAC Defensive Specialist of the Week. She had 21 digs on Friday to lead the way. Senior Rachel Williams added 11 digs with six kills, sharing the team lead on the afternoon with junior Paola Maradei, who also had six kills with three blocks.
 
The Spartans spread the wealth around in the first set as they rallied from an early three-point hole. A couple of blocks from Maradei during a short 4-0 run put NSU ahead 9-8. Maradei later had a service ace for a two-point edge, and the Spartans still led by two at 17-15 after a kill from junior Heliceliz Rivera.
 
The Rams, however, scored six straight after that and 10 of the last 12 points of the opening set. VCU improved to 3-0 on the year.
 
Rivera had a kill and two aces over the course of three straight serves as NSU built a 7-5 lead in the second set. The Spartans later called timeout when VCU extended its lead to four at 14-10. The Rams were ahead 19-14 when the Spartans made it interesting.
 
They scored six of the next seven points to tie the score at 20-all. Maradei had a pair of kills during that time, and senior Jannel Ezeagwu and freshman Paola Matos combined for a block to end the 6-1 run. On the other side, Lauren King had back-to-back kills for a 23-21 VCU lead, although a kill from Williams got NSU within one at 24-23.
 
But the Rams were able to finish out the set with one of their 40 kills on the afternoon, and a 12-4 run early in the third set put them ahead by nine. VCU's lead swelled to 11 and then finally to 12 at the very end. The Rams hit .248 for the match and held a 12-5 edge in blocks.
 
King finished with 11 kills, while Alyna Draper led the VCU defense with 23 digs. Jasmine Knight had a hand in seven of the team's 12 blocks.
 
Rivera had 19 assists for NSU with six digs, four kills and three aces.
 
Norfolk State will next play at home on Thursday to start a home-and-home non-conference series with Delaware State. First set from Echols Hall is set for 4 p.m. The two teams complete the series on Feb. 8 at DSU.