NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State volleyball came up one set shy of a road victory on Sunday afternoon, falling to North Carolina Central 3-2 in Durham, N.C.
 
After NSU took the first two games 25-22, 25-21, the Eagles stormed back to win the final three 25-18, 25-20, 15-12. The loss dropped the Spartans to 7-15 on the season, 7-5 in the MEAC.
 
Shonte Seale capped off an impressive weekend with a match-high 17 kills on Sunday, with Carla Hernandez posting a 13-kill, 11-dig double-double. Freshman Raquel Lightbourn followed up Friday's breakthrough performance with another strong display, racking up eight kills on a .304 hitting percentage.
 
This road outing felt a little more familiar for freshman setter Sydney McCree. After missing the Spartans' previous two outings with an injury, McCree made her return in her hometown of Durham, recording 41 assists and 11 digs in one of her top showings of the season.
 
Nicole Rodriguez totaled 23 digs alongside Alondra Hernandez's 14. It marked just the second time this season that four different Spartans recorded double-digit digs in a single match.
 
The Spartans took control of the first set behind a string of powerful serves by sophomore Kylah Hunter. Carla Hernandez sparked the run with back-to-back kills, before blocking an attack alongside Paola Maradei, with Hunter recording a service ace on the next point.
 
Three kills in a quick stretch from Seale pushed the Spartans ahead after NCCU crept back into the set. Lightbourn put away a McCree assist on game point to give NSU a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
Maradei made another crafty attack in the second set, immediately followed by back-to-back Lightbourn kills to put NSU up by two. The teams refused to give an inch from there, with the Eagles eventually taking a 21-20 lead after multiple long rallies. The Spartans responded by winning the final five points of the set, boosted by a pair of shared rejections by Adlene Jideofor and McCree.
 
A 6-1 run in the third set helped NCCU earn a five-point advantage and eventually get on the board, before the Eagles won the first six points of the fourth set to truly shift the momentum. The Spartans went on a 4-0 burst behind Myleah Carter's serve to tighten the gap, but the Eagles used their own four-point closing run to send the match to a fifth set.
 
Trailing by one in the final game, a Jidefor kill preceded an Eagle attack error and Alondra Hernandez ace moments later. With the Spartans leading 11-10, NCCU closed the match on a 6-1 swing to finish off the comeback.
 
Norfolk State returns to Gill Gymnasium for an afternoon bout with defending MEAC champion Howard on Wednesday at 12 p.m. The match was previously scheduled for September 30^th, but was postponed due to inclement weather.