NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State rallied from a two-set deficit to pull out a gritty 3-2 win over Radford on Friday at Old Dominion's Quest for the Crown Tournament at the ODU Volleyball Center.

The come-from-behind win over Radford gave the Spartans (4-6) their first-ever victory over the Highlanders and a split of their first-day action at ODU. NSU opened the day with a 3-1 loss to Buffalo.

The Spartans could easily have finished the day 0-2 had it not been for a stirring comeback in their second match of the day. NSU dropped the first two sets to the Highlanders (2-9) 25-23 and 25-19 before rallying to win three in a row, 25-22, 25-19 and 15-13.

Two of NSU's seniors played a key role in the rally. Rachel Williams set her new NSU high and tied her collegiate high from her days at Arkansas-Fort Smith with 20 kills. Taylor Eichelberger put down a season-high 14, five in the final set alone.

After hitting below .200 in the first two sets, NSU hit .316 and .417 in the next two sets to even things up. Williams and Eichelberger combined for 10 kills (five each) with just one error in set three. NSU scored three of the final four points to take that set, with a kill by Shonte Seale and a block by Gracie Teeter and Eichelberger finishing it off.

A 7-1 run early in set 4 gave the Spartans even more momentum. Seale and Teeter each had a pair of kills in the run. Seale and Eichelberger then put down a pair of kills each in a 7-1 spurt to close the set out, breaking an 18-all tie.

The Spartans jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the deciding set, only to see Radford respond with an 8-3 spurt to take the 11-10 lead after two NSU errors. But Seale tied the match with a kill, Eichelberger accounted for the next three points with kills of her own, and Williams put the match away with her 20^th kill of the night to complete NSU's comeback.

In addition to her 20 kills, Williams also notched a career-high 20 digs for her third double-double of the season. Seale and Caris Cross also recorded double-doubles. Seal contributed 14 kills and 13 digs and Cross posted a career-high 52 assists and 10 digs of her own.

Libero Nicole Rodriguez tallied a team-high 23 digs for NSU, which hit .261 as a team.

The win was NSU's fourth of the year, already the Spartans' most since 2018. NSU went 4-17 that year.

Buffalo 3, NSU 1
Norfolk State won the first set of the morning match with the Bulls 27-25, but Buffalo bounced back to take the next three sets, 25-16, 25-21 and 25-19. The Spartans were led by Seale and Paola Matos, who both registered 13 kills, and Williams chipped in with 11.

Seale got off to a torrid start, putting down 10 kills in the opening set. NSU trailed just once in the set, at 2-1, before Seale and Kendra McRuffin combined on a block to put NSU back in front. NSU held set point at 24-21 after a kill by Williams, but the Bulls reeled off three straight points to tie the set. But Seale's kill and a block by Matos and Teeter gave the Spartans the set in extra points.

In set 2, the Bulls got out to a 7-3 start and never looked back, piling up 18 kills against two errors to tie the match. Set 3 was a battle throughout, with Buffalo breaking a 20-all tie with a 5-1 run to take the lead in the match.

In set 4, Buffalo broke free from a 10-10 deadlock by scoring six of the next eight points, three off kills by Milla Malik. NSU got within 18-16 after a kill from McRuffin, but the Bulls scored seven of the final 10 points to close out the Spartans.

Matos had just two attack errors while hitting .367 for the match. She, Seale and Williams combined for 37 of the team's 44 kills. Nicole Rodriguez posted a match-high 23 digs, while Cross had 37 assists and 10 digs for a double-double.

Teeter had six total blocks, while Matos, Seale and McRuffin posted four apiece.

Malik recorded 22 kills and Emma Gielas 17 for Buffalo.

NSU caps its weekend at ODU's tournament by facing the host Monarchs at 4 p.m. Saturday.