WILMINGTON, N.C. — Norfolk State closed out the UNCW Hampton Inn University Invitational with a 3-0 loss to UNC Asheville (25-15, 25-17, 25-19) on Saturday morning at Hanover Hall.
The Bulldogs (9-2) controlled the match from the service line, ripping 18 aces to Norfolk State's three. Sarah Wadsworth led all players with eight aces to go with eight kills and 13 digs, and Lydia Pate added five. The Spartans (2-6) committed 18 reception errors and were held to a .087 attack percentage.
Gabrielle Gilbert led Norfolk State with seven kills, adding five digs, an ace and a solo block for a team-high 9.0 points. The senior finished the weekend with 1,214 career kills after passing Charlotte Armstead's program record of 1,177 in Friday's opener against UNC Wilmington.
Catori Crawford hit .231 with six kills and three block assists, and Ava Berry added two kills on six errorless swings. Jasmine Mataira ran the offense with 11 assists, while Jazeli Vandenburgh led the defense with eight digs. Reagan Chisholm chipped in three block assists off the bench.
Norfolk State out-blocked UNC Asheville 9.0-6.0 and finished the weekend with a blocking edge in two of three matches.
UNC Asheville turned a 12-9 lead into a 21-12 advantage in the opening set. Norfolk State answered with three straight — a Gilbert kill, a Crawford-Chisholm block and a Mataira ace — but the Bulldogs closed on a 4-0 run.
The second set never got beyond a three-point margin through 13-11 before UNC Asheville pulled away on a 3-0 spurt that included two Olivia Callipo aces. The Bulldogs scored 11 of the next 13 points to build a 24-14 cushion.
The Spartans faced a 7-0 hole to open the third and trailed 23-13 before putting together their best stretch of the weekend, scoring six consecutive points on kills from Crawford, Gilbert and two from Berry, plus a Berry-Crawford block. UNC Asheville closed the match two points later.
WEEKEND WRAP
Norfolk State went 0-3 at the invitational, dropping four-set decisions to host UNC Wilmington (27-25, 16-25, 21-25, 21-25) and Harvard (8-25, 25-14, 22-25, 19-25) on Friday before Saturday's sweep.
Gilbert totaled 38 kills across the three matches and reached double figures in each of the first two. The Spartans, who entered the weekend leading Division I in service aces per set, posted 20 aces but were out-aced 44-20 by a field in which every team ranked among the national top 25 in that category.
UP NEXT
Norfolk State returns to action Tuesday, Sept. 15, when the Spartans host Bowie State in Gill Gymnasium at 6 p.m.
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