NORFOLK, Va. — The Norfolk State volleyball team hosts Maryland Eastern Shore on Friday, Oct. 2, at 6 p.m. in Gill Gymnasium before traveling to Delaware State on Sunday, Oct. 4, for a noon first serve at Memorial Hall. Both matches will stream on the MEAC Network.
MATCH INFORMATION
Vs. Maryland Eastern Shore | Friday, Oct. 2 | 6 p.m. | Gill Gymnasium | LIVE STATS | VIDEO
At Delaware State | Sunday, Oct. 4 | 12 p.m. | Memorial Hall | LIVE STATS | VIDEO
Fans can purchase tickets for Friday'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 4-11 overall and 0-2 in MEAC play, but enters the weekend off its most complete performance of the season — a 3-1 win at Hampton on Wednesday that completed a season sweep of the Pirates. The Spartans hit .307 in the match, their second-best mark of the year, while holding Hampton to .213 and serving 15 aces.
Gabrielle Gilbert leads Norfolk State with 195 kills (3.48 per set) and 231.5 points while hitting .203. Kyleigh Moore ranks second with 131 kills and 155.5 points, followed by Isis Castille with 66, Ava Berry with 44 and Reagan Chisholm with 40. Chisholm leads the team at .372.
Jasmine Mataira directs the offense with 243 assists (4.34 per set). Jazeli Vandenburgh passed 200 digs on the season and leads the Spartans with 206 (3.75 per set). Berry tops Norfolk State at the net with 50.0 blocks, followed by Chisholm with 26.0 and Briana Ellis with 23.0.
SECOND IN THE NATION AT THE SERVICE LINE
Norfolk State ranks second in Division I in both service aces per set (2.46) and total aces (138), trailing only UNC Asheville in each. Both marks lead the MEAC.
The Spartans place four servers among the conference's top eight in aces per set. Vandenburgh leads the league at 0.58 and ranks 22nd nationally, with Gilbert third at 0.52, Ellis sixth at 0.46 and Mataira eighth at 0.41. Vandenburgh's 32 total aces rank eighth in the country and first in the MEAC, and she also sits second in the league with 206 digs.
GILBERT PASSES 1,500
Gilbert reached 1,500 career points this week and now stands at 1,508.0, having broken Charlotte Armstead's program record of 1,399.5 on Sept. 15. The senior also holds the Norfolk State career records for kills, now at 1,307, and attack attempts at 3,551, and her 129 service aces are tied for seventh in program history with Solange Honore (2006-09).
Gilbert leads the MEAC in total kills (195), points (231.5), points per set (4.13), total attack attempts (556) and attacks per set (9.93), and ranks second in the conference in kills per set at 3.48. Nationally, she is 34th in total attacks, 36th in points and 55th in total kills.
ABOUT THE HAWKS
Maryland Eastern Shore enters at 2-11 overall and 1-1 in MEAC play. The Hawks snapped a 10-match losing streak in their home opener on Sept. 25, beating South Carolina State in four sets, then pushed N.C. Central to five before falling on Sept. 27. UMES spent its entire non-conference slate on the road, playing 10 straight away from Princess Anne.
Blocking is the strength. UMES averages 2.27 blocks per set, with Dynasty Andrews leading the way at 52.0 total and 1.30 per set and Malaysia Shaw adding 38.0. Rayah Howell has 27.0 to go with 75 kills.
Karielys Melendez leads the Hawks with 93 kills, 116.0 points and a team-high 19 service aces, while Jayda Hutchins has been used as both an attacker and a setter, posting 75 kills, 100 assists and 71 digs. Hutchins has been the Hawks' most productive player in league play at 3.11 kills per set. Kate-linh Eden runs the offense with 150 assists, and libero Arianna Warner Torres leads the defense with 132 digs (3.14 per set).
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Delaware State is the class of the MEAC early, entering at 11-5 overall and 2-0 in league play after sweeping N.C. Central and South Carolina State at home the weekend of Sept. 25-27. The Hornets opened the season 3-0 at the MEAC/SWAC Challenge and are 5-1 at Memorial Hall.
Delaware State's defense sets the tone. The Hornets lead the MEAC in opponent hitting percentage at .145 and average 2.35 blocks per set. Hannah Sanders anchors that effort with 65.0 blocks while hitting a conference-best .422 with 109 kills, and Duura Kpea has added 55.0 blocks.
Aaliyah Mitchell paces the attack with 182 kills and 212.0 points. Jalia Dublin has 121 kills, and setter Paige Ahakuelo averages 6.24 assists per set with 262 on the year, with Ailena Mykins adding 211. Libero Courtney Nix leads the Hornets with 195 digs (3.61 per set) and a team-high 30 aces. Sunday's match is Delaware State's Domestic Violence Awareness game.
Sunday pairs the conference's two leading attackers, with Mitchell at 3.53 kills per set and Gilbert at 3.48.
SERIES HISTORY
Maryland Eastern Shore leads the all-time series with Norfolk State, 46-19, and has won the last three meetings. Both matchups last season went the distance, with the Hawks taking five-set decisions in Princess Anne on Oct. 3 and in Gill Gymnasium on Oct. 31. Norfolk State's most recent win in the series came in five sets at UMES on Nov. 1, 2024.
Delaware State holds a 39-20 edge over the Spartans and has won four of the last five meetings. Norfolk State's lone win in that stretch was a five-set decision in Gill Gymnasium on Nov. 3, 2024. The Hornets swept the Spartans in Norfolk on Oct. 5, 2025, and won in five at Memorial Hall on Nov. 2.
UP NEXT
Norfolk State returns to Gill Gymnasium for a pair of MEAC matches next week, hosting N.C. Central on Thursday, Oct. 8, at 6 p.m. for the Play for Kay Game and Pink Out, before welcoming South Carolina State on Friday, Oct. 9, at 6 p.m.
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.
