NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk State women's volleyball team is back in action this weekend as the team heads up to Charlottesville, Va., to compete at the Jefferson Cup Invitational hosted by the University of Virginia.
Kicking off the Jefferson Cup Invitational will be George Washington University and Wofford College who face off at 4:30 PM. NSU will take on the hosting UVA Cavaliers on Friday evening at 7 PM. Day two's format will pit the two non-winning teams from Friday against each other at 12 PM, while the two winning teams will face off at 2:30 PM.
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Matches 6-7: Jefferson Cup Invitational (Hosted by UVA)
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Coverage
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Sept. 15 | vs. University of Virginia | 7:00 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch ($)
Sept. 16 | vs. George Washington University OR vs. Wofford College | 12:00 p.m. OR 2:30 p.m. | Live Stats
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Venue
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Memorial Gymnasium
(All 2023 volleyball regular-season matches are free of charge to the public. Seating is first come, first served.)
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Social Media
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Twitter | Instagram | #GoldStandard #Behold #AllIn
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Norfolk State Notes
The Spartans enter the weekend coming off a thrilling five set win over UNC Wilmington at the Seahawk Invitational. The victory was Norfolk State's first non-conference win since September 17, 2021 when NSU defeated Radford in five sets at Old Dominion's Quest for the Crown Tournament.
For her performance over the weekend, freshman Gabrielle Gilbert was named the MEAC women's volleyball rookie of the week. Gilbert collected 44 kills over the weekend including a season and career high 22 in the five-set victory over UNCW. The day before, Gilbert collected her previous best, 16 kills, in a five-set match against Alabama State.
Gilbert now leads the team with 58 kills on the season while Shonte Seale and Alexa Harris are close behind with 56 and 55 kills respectively. Setter Sydney McCree already has 151 assists this season with 103 of them coming from last weekend's tournament.
Within the MEAC, the Spartans sit among the top-10 in several statistical categories. Harris (.275) and Gilbert (.272) sit seventh and ninth respectively in hitting percentage, while McCree is third in assists per set (7.95). Gilbert, Seale and Harris are seventh through ninth in the kills per set rankings. Defensive specialist Fabiana Mucciola is sixth in digs per set (3.21).
Virginia Notes
The host Cavaliers head into the weekend with a 6-2 overall record while riding a one-game win streak over UMBC this past Sunday. UVA's longest win streak so far this season was four in a row with wins over Quinnipiac, Columbia, Old Dominion, and Howard before falling to Coastal Carolina.
The Cavs are led by Abby Tadder on attack with 106 kills. Lauryn Bowie is the next closest at 95. Ashley Le is the primary setter for UVA with 309 assists this season. On the backline, Milan Gomillion sits at the top of the stats charts with 124 digs while Le has 95.
Wofford Notes
Wofford comes into the Jefferson Cup Invitational with a 7-2 overall record and riding a three-game winning streak. The Terriers are led by senior middle blocker Sarah Barham who just recently was name the SoCon's Defensive Player of the Week. Barham has 75 total kills and 38 blocks to lead the team. On her heels are Millie Loehr and Addison Foote with 67 kills each. Barham sits third in the SoCon standings while Loehr and Foote are tied for fifth. The Loehr/Barham duo sits one-two in the SoCon block standings.
Wofford runs a two-setter system with Emily Hodsdon leading with 224 assists while Taylor Pecht has put up 103 of her own. Hodsdon, also leads Wofford with 16 service aces, is fifth in the SoCon in assists. Leading the back line is defensive specialist Abbey Richman with 147 digs.
George Washington Notes
George Washington heads into the weekend after taking on N.C. State in a midweek road test in Raleigh, N.C., that saw the Revolutionaries fall in three sets. GWU holds a 2-7 overall record and are two and one in their last three matches picking up a pair of four set wins over Old Dominion and Georgetown.
Brittany Myers leads the Revolutionaries with 72 kills while Liv Womble is close behind with 69 kills of her own. GWU also runs a two-setter system between Dilara Elmacioglu (163) and Maeve Loughran (132). Between the two they have 295 of the team's 341 assists.
On the defensive side of things, Penelope Hiepler leads the team with 96 digs. Sydney Stewart and Kelsey Watkins sit tied for the team lead in blocks at 29 a piece.
For complete coverage of Norfolk State Athletics, please follow the Spartans on social media at @NSUSpartans (Twitter), /NorfolkStateAthletics (Facebook), @NSUAthletics (Instagram), @nsuathletics (YouTube) or visit the official home of Norfolk State Athletics at nsuspartans.com.
