NORFOLK, Va. — The Norfolk State volleyball team begins its final stretch of regular season road games this weekend, visiting South Carolina State on Friday, Nov. 6, at 6 p.m. in Orangeburg before a Sunday matinee at N.C. Central on Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. in Durham. Both matches stream on the MEAC Network.
MATCH INFORMATION
At South Carolina State | Friday, Nov. 6 | 6 p.m. | Orangeburg, S.C. | WATCH | STATS
At N.C. Central | Sunday, Nov. 8 | 1 p.m. | Durham, N.C. | WATCH | STATS
NO. 1 IN THE NATION
Norfolk State leads all of Division I in service aces per set at 2.34 and ranks second nationally with 213 total aces, trailing only UNC Asheville. Both marks lead the MEAC, where Delaware State is next at 1.99 per set.
Gabrielle Gilbert is fifth in the country with 53 service aces and ninth in aces per set at 0.58, leading the MEAC in both. Jazeli Vandenburgh is 22nd nationally with 43 and second in the league at 0.55, while Briana Ellis is ninth in the MEAC at 0.40 and Jasmine Mataira has 31.
ABOUT THE SPARTANS
Norfolk State is 9-15 overall and 5-6 in MEAC play after splitting last week, winning at Maryland Eastern Shore on Oct. 30 before falling to Delaware State on Senior Day. The Spartans are third in the conference in match win percentage behind only Coppin State and Delaware State.
Gilbert leads the MEAC in six categories: 369 kills (4.05 per set), 437.0 points (4.80 per set) and 929 attack attempts (10.21 per set). She ranks 11th nationally in points, 18th in total kills, 26th in points per set, 38th in kills per set and 40th in total attacks.
Ava Berry has 86 total blocks, second-most in the MEAC and 156th nationally. Vandenburgh's 273 digs rank fifth in the conference.
Norfolk State's team numbers have climbed through league play. The Spartans are second in the MEAC in hitting percentage at .206, behind only Coppin State, and third in total blocks with 184.0.
GILBERT CHASING HER OWN RECORDS
Gilbert's 4.05 kills per set would break her own Norfolk State single-season record of 4.04, set in 2024. Her 369 kills are 40 shy of the 408 she posted that year, the program's single-season mark, with three regular-season matches remaining.
She already owns three career records at Norfolk State: 1,481 kills, 1,713.5 points and 3,924 attack attempts. Her 153 career service aces rank fifth in program history, seven behind Holly Gray's 160 from 1993-95.
A three-time All-MEAC First Team selection and a two-time MEAC Player of the Week this season, Gilbert was the 2023 MEAC Rookie of the Year and the 2024 VaSID State Player of the Year. She also holds the single-season school records for attack attempts (1,193 in 2025), points (473.0 in 2024) and points per set (4.68 in 2024).
MATAIRA'S MILESTONE
Mataira crossed 1,000 career assists at Morgan State on Oct. 23, dishing a career-high 56 in the five-set win — a total that ties Darcy Moore's mark against Canisius in 2013 for the second-most in a match in Norfolk State history.
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
South Carolina State is 6-21 overall and 1-10 in MEAC play, having lost three straight, most recently a sweep at Morgan State on Nov. 1. The Bulldogs rank last in the conference in hitting percentage at .113 and in blocks per set at 1.51.
Kenna Harris leads South Carolina State with 212 kills (2.28 per set) and 228.0 points, followed by Amani Hawkins with 160 and Carra Pierre-Louis with 112. Ki'ra Wright adds 104 kills to a team-high 297 digs — fourth-most in the MEAC — and 24 service aces.
Macey McCoy and Arianna James split the setting with 342 and 330 assists. Libero Jordan Dalland has 217 digs and Chloe Neal leads the team with 29 aces. De'oni Mcphearson paces the Bulldogs at the net with 48.0 blocks, followed by Taelyn Graham with 41.0.
ABOUT THE EAGLES
N.C. Central is 7-16 and, like Norfolk State, serves aggressively. The Eagles rank 18th nationally and third in the MEAC in aces per set at 1.93, with 170 total aces — meaning Sunday pits two of the conference's top three serving teams against each other.
Breylan Fairley leads N.C. Central with 37 aces, fifth in the MEAC, with Shalyn Bell at 33 and Talia Emmen at 31. Bell ranks fourth in the league in aces per set at 0.46 and Fairley fifth at 0.44.
Emmen paces the Eagles' attack at 3.30 kills per set, third in the conference. N.C. Central is third in the MEAC in hitting percentage at .200 and in digs per set at 13.08, but seventh in blocks per set at 1.65.
SERIES HISTORY
South Carolina State leads the all-time series, 25-18, though Norfolk State swept the Bulldogs in Gill Gymnasium on Oct. 9. N.C. Central holds a 22-14 edge, with the Spartans taking the most recent meeting in five sets on Oct. 8.
UP NEXT
Norfolk State closes the regular season at Howard on Friday, Nov. 13, 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.
