NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk State university women's volleyball team gets back on the court this weekend to compete at the Hampton Inn and Suites Seahawk Invitational hosted by UNC Wilmington down in Wilmington, N.C.  

The Spartans return to action after a 12-day hiatus and are set to play three matches over the weekend. NSU will kick off the tournament against the Pirates of East Carolina on Friday, Sept. 8, at 10 a.m. and follow with a 2 p.m. match against the Hornets of Alabama State University. The weekend closes out on Saturday, Sept. 9, when Norfolk State takes on the host Seahawks of UNC Wilmington at 5 p.m. at the Trask Coliseum.  

All matches will have live stats available for fans to follow the action while the match against UNC Wilmington will be available to watch on FloVolleyball for a fee. Fans are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item to help UNCW in its second annual food drive to help the hungry in Wilmington. 

Matches 3-5: Hampton Inn And Suites Seahawk Invitational (Hosted by UNCW)
Coverage	Sept. 8 | vs. East Carolina | 10:00 a.m. | Live Stats   Sept. 8 | vs. Alabama State | 2:00 p.m. | Live Stats  Sept. 9 | vs. UNC Wilmington | 5:00 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch ($)
Venue	Trask Coliseum (Admission for regular season events is complimentary for UNCW women's volleyball events)
Social Media	Twitter | Instagram | #GoldStandard #Behold #AllIn

Norfolk State Notes 

Norfolk State (0-2) comes into the match following a long early season break having last competed on Aug. 26 against Virginia Commonwealth and Old Dominion in the Quest for the Crown Tournament. NSU's match earlier this week against Hampton was canceled adding to long break in action.  

The Spartans, eager to get back on the court, are led by senior attacker Shonte Seale with 27 kills while newcomers Alexa Harris (Jr.) and Gabrielle Gilbert (Fr.) are not far behind with 18 and 14 kills respectively. Setting the attackers up is sophomore Sydney McCree at the setter position who tallied 48 total assists in the first two games of the season. Libero Fabiana Mucciola contributed 11 assists while also leading the backline with 15 digs. Harris aided the backline with 12 digs of her own.  

East Carolina Notes 

ECU comes into the weekend with a 4-2 overall record after going 2-1 at their own Pirate Invitational last weekend in Greenville, N.C. The Pirates defeated the Fighting Camels of Campbell and Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman in straight sets before falling to the Mountaineers of Appalachian State in five.  

East Carolina boasts the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week in sophomore middle blocker Carlia Northcross. Northcross set the school record for blocks in a single contest against Appalachian State as she racked up 13.0 (two solo, 11 assists) to help the Pirates match the program record for team blocks (19.0). 

Angeles Alderete leads the Pirates attack with 52 kills on 184 attacks for a 2.60 kill per set average and a .141 attack percentage. Izzy Marinelli and Northcross sit second and third in the offensive stats with 41 and 28 kills respectively. ECU runs a two-setter system with Peyton Evenstad and Julianna Askew sharing the responsibility. Evenstad leads the assist column with 99 assists while Askew has recorded 87 of her own. Alderete leads the backline with 59 digs while Tia Shum is close behind with 53. 

Alabama State Notes 

Alabama State enters the weekend 0-7 coming out of a midweek match where the Hornets fell in four sets against North Alabama on Tuesday, Sept. 5. Prior to the North Alabama match, ASU participated in the UCF Tournament in Orlando, Fla. The Hornets faced the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest, Panthers of Florida international, and the host Knights of Central Florida.  

The Hornets have five players with 30 or more kills and one just shy with 28 indicating they have multiple attacking components to utilize. Jylen Whitten leads the team with 44 kills averaging 1.83 per set. Filling the setter role is Madison Beasley who has 106 assists on the season while Emily Brooks has collected 69 of her own in relief of Beasley. Bolstering the defense is Temperance Chatman with a team-high 82 digs.  

Alabama State boasts three players of the week from the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) as Jylen Whitten (offensive), Taila Gaines (defensive), and Madison Beasley (setter) each won awards for their performance in the UCF Challenge. 

UNC Wilmington Notes 

The Seahawks enter the weekend 2-4 overall after going 1-2 at their two previous tournaments. Most recently, UNCW fell in four sets to the Wildcats of Davidson College after sweeping the Royals of Queens University in three sets earlier in the day, Sept. 2. 

UNCW is led on attack by Caitlyn Callahan and Sarah Thompson with 46 and 43 kills respectively. Alexa Brezeault and Grace Melnick sit tied at 37 kills each. Annabelle Schall and Morgan Galligan share the setting responsibilities with Schall collecting 118 assists and Galligan tallying 82. On the defensive side of the ball Charlotte Cronister bolsters the back line with 90 digs while Schall and Thompson both have collected 42 digs apiece.  

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.