NORFOLK, Va. — The Norfolk State volleyball team closes its October home schedule on Thursday, Oct. 15, hosting Howard at 6 p.m. in Gill Gymnasium before traveling to Coppin State on Sunday, Oct. 18, for a 1 p.m. first serve at PEC Arena. Both matches stream on the MEAC Network.

MATCH INFORMATION
Vs. Howard | Thursday, Oct. 15 | 6 p.m. | Gill Gymnasium | WATCH | STATS
At Coppin State | Sunday, Oct. 18 | 1 p.m. | PEC Arena | WATCH | STATS

Fans can purchase tickets for Thursday's match through the Norfolk State athletics ticket office and follow the action through live stats on the Norfolk State athletics website.

ABOUT THE SPARTANS
Norfolk State is 7-12 overall and 3-3 in MEAC play after a pair of home wins last week, rallying past N.C. Central in five sets on Pink Out night before sweeping South Carolina State the following evening. The Spartans have won three of their last four.

Gabrielle Gilbert leads the MEAC in five categories and ranks among the national leaders in several. The senior has 269 kills (3.79 per set), 319.5 points (4.50 per set) and 719 attack attempts (10.13 per set) — all conference bests — and sits 13th nationally in points, 21st in total kills and 26th in total attacks.

Kyleigh Moore ranks second on the team at 2.49 kills per set. Jasmine Mataira directs the offense at 5.41 assists per set with Nehir Erimez close behind, and Jazeli Vandenburgh anchors the back row with 257 digs, third-most in the MEAC.

Ava Berry leads the Spartans at the net with 64 blocks, and Norfolk State's 145.0 total blocks rank third in the conference and 104th nationally.

GILBERT GOES BACK-TO-BACK
Gilbert was named MEAC Volleyball Player of the Week on Oct. 12, her second consecutive weekly honor from the conference. She totaled 36 kills over eight sets in the two wins, averaging 4.50 kills and 5.38 points per set while hitting .286 with 43.0 points, six service aces, 12 digs and two blocks.

Her 25 kills against N.C. Central were a season high and marked her third 20-kill match of 2026. She followed with 11 kills on 25 swings and three errors against South Carolina State, a .320 clip, adding six digs and three aces in the sweep.

Gilbert earned the first of the two awards on Oct. 5 after a 54-kill week against Hampton, Maryland Eastern Shore and Delaware State.

SECOND IN THE NATION AT THE SERVICE LINE
Norfolk State ranks second in Division I in both service aces per set (2.44) and total aces (173), trailing only UNC Asheville in each. Both marks lead the MEAC by a comfortable margin.

Gilbert and Vandenburgh are tied for the conference lead with 39 aces apiece, a total that ranks eighth nationally. Vandenburgh is 20th in the country in aces per set at 0.56 with Gilbert 21st at 0.55, giving the Spartans the top two servers in the MEAC. Mataira has added 26.

GILBERT'S RECORD SEASON
Gilbert owns three Norfolk State career records: 1,381 kills, 1,596.0 points and 3,714 attack attempts. She passed Charlotte Armstead for the career kills mark on Sept. 11 and the points record on Sept. 15.

Her 139 career service aces now rank sixth in program history, having moved past Yolanda Roberts (2005-08), Norfolk State's head bowling coach and a program alumna. Kim Mumford's 151 aces, set from 1992-95, are next.

A three-time All-MEAC First Team selection, Gilbert was the 2023 MEAC Rookie of the Year and the 2024 VaSID State Player of the Year. She holds the single-season school records for kills (408 in 2024), kills per set (4.04 in 2024), attack attempts (1,193 in 2025), points (473.0 in 2024) and points per set (4.68 in 2024).

ABOUT THE BISON
Howard is 6-12 overall but 5-1 in MEAC play, the best conference mark in the league outside Coppin State. The Bison have won five of six since league play opened, with the lone loss coming to Coppin State on Sept. 24, and most recently fell at UMBC in four sets on Oct. 13.

Zenai Jethroe has been the most efficient attacker in the conference, hitting .343 overall with 159 kills and a team-high 58.0 blocks, and she has been even better in league play at .415. Addison Buckner leads Howard with 184 kills and is at 3.04 per set in MEAC matches.

Alexys James is one of only six players in Division I with a triple-double this season, and her line explains why: 105 kills, 300 assists, 115 digs and a team-high 24 service aces. Sydnei Jones shares setting duties with 306 assists, and libero Camryn Shelton leads the Bison with 272 digs (4.12 per set) and 22 aces.

ABOUT THE EAGLES
Coppin State is 15-5 and carries a program-record 14-match winning streak into Wednesday's home match against Towson. The streak is the third-longest active run in Division I behind top-ranked Nebraska and College of Charleston. The Eagles lead the MEAC in nine statistical categories, including hitting percentage (.241), kills per set (12.73), assists per set (11.39), digs per set (13.24), blocks per set (2.33) and total blocks (184.0).

Eva Rovello has been named MEAC Setter of the Week four times this season and MEAC Player of the Week once, and she leads the conference at 9.51 assists per set. Libero Coco Figueroa, the 2025 MEAC Defensive Player of the Year, recently became the third Coppin State player to reach 1,500 career digs and ranks fifth in MEAC history in the category. Middle blocker Kayden Cupid leads the league with 79 total blocks and 1.22 per set.

Cherisse Atilano, the 2025 MEAC Rookie of the Year, and Deviana Walker have also earned Player of the Week honors this season. Walker matched a career-high with 15 kills in the Eagles' Sept. 27 win in Gill Gymnasium. Kendall Minta recorded her 300th career block earlier this month. Coppin State is in its 10th season under Tim Walsh, the winningest coach in program history, and hosts the MEAC Championship from Nov. 20-22.

SERIES HISTORY
Howard holds a 37-5 edge in the all-time series and has won 25 consecutive meetings with Norfolk State. The Spartans' last win in the series came on Nov. 2, 2012, a four-set decision.

Coppin State leads its series with Norfolk State, 32-16, and swept the Spartans in three sets at Gill Gymnasium on Sept. 27.

UP NEXT
Norfolk State returns to Baltimore the following week, facing Morgan State on Friday, Oct. 23.

For complete coverage of Norfolk State Athletics, follow the Spartans on social media at @nsuspartans (X/Twitter), /NorfolkStateAthletics (Facebook), @NSUAthletics (Instagram) and @nsuathletics (YouTube), or visit the official home of Norfolk State Athletics at nsuspartans.com.