NORFOLK, Va. — Gabrielle Gilbert turned in a 25-point night with 18 kills and six service aces, but Howard hit .318 and handed Norfolk State a 3-1 loss (25-17, 19-25, 25-21, 25-14) on Thursday night in front of 183 at Gill Gymnasium.
Gilbert hit .310 with eight digs and a solo block. Jasmine Mataira recorded a double-double with 30 assists and 12 digs, adding four kills at .444 and two aces, while Jazeli Vandenburgh chipped in 12 digs and three aces.
Norfolk State (7-13, 3-4 MEAC) served 13 aces to Howard's nine but was out-killed 57-41 and out-blocked 10.0-6.0. The Bison (7-12, 6-1 MEAC) got a .619 night from Zenai Jethroe, who finished with 15 kills on 21 swings and seven block involvements for 20.5 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1 (HOW 25-17): Howard scored the first five points, three of them on Norfolk State attack errors. The Spartans answered with a Kyleigh Moore kill and back-to-back Vandenburgh aces, then fell behind 9-3 before reeling off four straight — two Howard attack errors, an Ava Berry block and a Catori Crawford ace — to get within 9-7. A Gilbert kill and a Moore ace tied it at 10, a Mataira kill squared it at 11 and another Gilbert kill made it 13-13. The Bison answered with four in a row and never trailed again. Reagan Chisholm and Moore kept the Spartans within four, 19-15, but Howard closed on a 4-0 run with Estrella Vazquez serving, getting an ace and two blocks.
Set 2 (NSU 25-19): The Bison opened a 6-1 lead behind three Zenai Jethroe kills and a Camryn Shelton ace. A Berry-Briana Ellis block and a Vandenburgh ace pulled Norfolk State within 6-4, and the Spartans kept chipping until a Gilbert kill and an Alexys James attack error tied it at 12. Gilbert stayed at the service line for three consecutive aces and a 15-12 lead. Howard drew even at 15 on a Shelton ace and a Jethroe kill, but an Ellis kill and an Ellis-Berry block put Norfolk State back in front, and three straight points made it 20-16. Crawford added a kill, Gilbert supplied back-to-back kills at 22-18 and 23-18, and after a Mataira kill, Gilbert ended the set with her fourth kill of the stretch.
Set 3 (HOW 25-21): Trailing 4-1, Norfolk State turned the frame around behind Gilbert, who delivered four kills in a stretch that carried the Spartans from down three to up 11-8. A Chisholm block, a Gilbert solo block and a Berry kill helped push the lead to 13-9. Alexys James then took over at the service line, running off five straight points with three consecutive aces to flip it to 15-13 Howard. An Addison Buckner ace stretched the Bison lead to 18-14 and it grew to 21-16 before the Spartans answered with three in a row on two Gilbert kills and a Mataira ace. Howard scored the next point and held on, closing out the set on a Norfolk State service error.
Set 4 (HOW 25-14): A Gilbert ace gave Norfolk State a 2-0 lead, but Howard answered with seven consecutive points on four kills and two Spartan attack errors. Gilbert and Berry supplied kills to get it to 10-5 before Buckner served six in a row — two Corinne Howard kills, an ace and two more kills among them — for a 16-5 cushion. Norfolk State closed the gap late as Gilbert served four straight points, two of them aces, with a Kailia Phillips kill making it 19-13. Phillips added another kill in the closing stretch, but the Bison finished it off.
SPARTAN STANDOUTS
Berry recorded four block involvements, including two solo stops, and added three kills. Reagan Chisholm had four kills, and Crawford contributed two kills, an ace and seven digs. Moore added seven kills and eight digs.
Buckner finished with 14 kills, 12 digs and two aces for Howard, and Corinne Howard and Dayion Johnson each added eight kills. James had eight kills, 23 assists, four aces and nine digs, Sydnei Jones distributed 27 assists, and Shelton led all players with 26 digs.
NOTES
- Mataira's 30-assist night moved her within 40 of 1,000 for her career.
UP NEXT
Norfolk State hits the road for a Sunday matinee at Coppin State, with first serve set for 1 p.m. on Oct. 18 at PEC Arena in Baltimore.
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.
