NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State and Hampton waged an epic battle in the Spartans' 2021 volleyball season opener on Tuesday night before a standing-room only crowd at Gill Gymnasium. After dropping the first two sets, the Spartans rallied to win the next two to force a deciding fifth set. The Spartans came within inches of winning, but Hampton scored the final three points of the match to hold off NSU by a 3-2 score.

The Pirates took the first two sets 25-19 and 25-20. The Spartans rebounded to win the next two by scores of 25-20 and 25-21 to tie the match, but Hampton won the final set in extra points, 20-18.

Junior college transfer Shonte Seale enjoyed a memorable debut for NSU, tallying a match-high 24 kills on 61 attempts. She added 14 digs for the double-double. Clara Smith had 16 kills to lead three Lady Pirates in double figures.

Smith had four kills and Hampton hit .333 to take set one. She chipped in five more in the second set to stake the Pirates to a seemingly comfortable 2-0 lead.

But the Spartans dug deep and battled back before a raucous home crowd in the first home sporting event on campus in the new academic year. Seale blasted six kills and senior Taylor Eichelberger had four on just five swings in the third set, leading NSU to a 25-20 win. Seale had three kills and an ace and middle blockers Gracie Teeter and Kendra McRuffin also chipped in kills as NSU raced out to a 9-3 lead early in the set.

NSU led by as many as 10 points in the set before the Pirates went on a late 8-2 run to close to within four. But a kill by Eichelberger, the 17th of the set for the Spartans, and a Hampton service error gave the Spartans the set.

Set four was tight in the early going, but a 4-0 spurt midway through gave the Spartans an edge that they would not lose. Kalaya Brown posted two aces, and a block by McRuffin and Rachel Williams gave NSU a 14-10 lead. Seale smashed another kill to end the set and square the match.

The fifth set was nip-and-tuck all the way, featuring 12 ties and five lead-changes. Hampton held leads of 4-2 and 6-3 early, but two kills each from Williams and Seale knotted things at 7-all.

Seale's kill pushed NSU in front 10-9, but the Pirates scored five of the next seven points to put NSU on the brink of defeat at 14-12. But a Pirate error, another Seale kill and a block by McRuffin and setter Caris Cross gave NSU its first match point at 15-14.

Hampton, however, staved off that match point and others at 17-16 and 18-17. Margaret Daramola's kill tied the match at 18, Smith followed with one of her own and NSU committed an attack error as the Pirates closed the match with a 3-0 run.

Seale hit .262 in her first match as a Spartan. Her 24 kills are tied for the third-most in a match in school history and are the most since Eichelberger's school-record 28 in 2017. Eichelberger chipped in 10 kills with just two errors on 21 attacks Tuesday.

Williams posted nine kills and a career-high 21 digs. Libero Nicole Rodriguez led the Spartans with 24 digs. Cross, a freshman, dished out 42 assists in her first collegiate match. Teeter had eight kills and five block assists, while McRuffin posted five kills and four block assists.

Alyah Barkley tallied 15 kills and Gabby Calloway 13 for Hampton, which hit .258 for the match. Jessica Pugh posted a match-high 26 digs.

The Spartans hit the road for the first time this season coming up this weekend. They participate in the Spartan-Aggie Tournament co-hosted by UNCG and North Carolina A&T in Greensboro. NSU faces UNCG at 6 p.m. Friday on ESPN+, then meets both North Carolina A&T and American on Saturday.