NORFOLK, Va. — The Norfolk State volleyball team opens MEAC play this weekend with a pair of home matches in Gill Gymnasium, hosting Morgan State on Friday, Sept. 25, at 6 p.m. before welcoming Coppin State for a Sunday matinee on Sept. 27 at 1 p.m. Both matches will stream on the MEAC Network.

MATCH INFORMATION
Vs. Morgan State | Friday, Sept. 25 | 6 p.m. | Gill Gymnasium | MEAC Network | Live Stats | TICKETS
Vs. Coppin State | Sunday, Sept. 27 | 1 p.m. | Gill Gymnasium | MEAC Network | Live Stats | TICKETS

ABOUT THE SPARTANS
Norfolk State enters conference play at 3-9 following a winless weekend at the Radford Invitational, where the Spartans dropped four-set decisions to Bellarmine and Radford before falling to UT Chattanooga in five. Norfolk State closed non-conference play with wins over Elon, Hampton and Bowie State.

Gabrielle Gilbert leads the Spartans with 163 kills (3.62 per set) and 191.0 points (4.24 per set) while hitting .208. Kyleigh Moore ranks second with 105 kills, followed by Isis Castille with 50, Ava Berry with 39 and Catori Crawford with 34.

Reagan Chisholm has emerged since returning to the lineup, hitting a team-best .429 with 31 kills and 17.0 blocks over 26 sets. Nehir Erimez leads the offense with 189 assists (4.30 per set), while Jasmine Mataira has 157.

Jazeli Vandenburgh paces the defense with 155 digs (3.52 per set). Berry leads at the net with 46.0 blocks (1.02 per set), followed by Briana Ellis with 21.0. Norfolk State ranks fourth in the MEAC in blocks per set at 2.07, with Berry third in the league in total blocks.

SECOND IN THE NATION AT THE SERVICE LINE
Norfolk State ranks second in Division I in service aces per set at 2.47, trailing only UNC Asheville (2.78), and is third nationally with 111 total aces. Both marks lead the MEAC.

The Spartans have four of the conference's top six servers by aces per set. Vandenburgh leads the league at 0.59 and ranks 22nd nationally, followed by Ellis third at 0.48, Gilbert fourth at 0.47 and Mataira sixth at 0.42. Vandenburgh also leads the MEAC with 26 total aces, 15th-most in the country, while Ellis and Gilbert are tied for third in the league with 21 apiece. The Spartans posted a season-high 25 aces in the five-set win over Hampton on Sept. 2.

GILBERT'S RECORD SEASON
Gilbert enters league play holding three Norfolk State career records. She passed Charlotte Armstead as the program's all-time kills leader on Sept. 11 and now has 1,275, and broke Armstead's career points record four days later in the sweep of Bowie State, pushing that total to 1,467.5. She also owns the school record for career attack attempts at 3,447 and ranks 10th in program history with 121 service aces.

The senior leads the MEAC in five statistical categories entering conference play: kills (163), kills per set (3.62), points (191.0), points per set (4.24) and attack attempts per set (10.04). She ranks 43rd nationally in points and 52nd in total kills.

ABOUT THE BEARS
Morgan State opens conference play at 1-11 after closing non-conference action at the Bobcat Invitational in Athens, Ohio, where the Bears fell to host Ohio, Mercyhurst and UNC Asheville. Morgan State's lone win came against Saint Peter's on Sept. 4.

Sophomore setter Isabelle Brown was named MEAC Setter of the Week on Monday, the second time she has earned the honor this season and the fourth of her career. Brown averaged 7.2 assists and 2.4 digs per set over the weekend and was named to the All-Bobcat Invitational Team. She leads the Bears with 298 assists (6.93 per set), 84 digs and 15 aces.

Jada Williams paces Morgan State with 112 kills and 30.0 blocks, while Michaela Panekova has 105 kills. Tre'Niya Miller leads the Bears at the net with 32.0 blocks, and Aubrey Wilson has 52 kills at a .252 clip with 21.0 blocks.

ABOUT THE EAGLES
Coppin State arrives having won seven consecutive matches, most recently a four-set win at New Haven. The Eagles swept the field at UConn's For The White & Blue Tournament the previous weekend, beating the host Huskies, Rhode Island and Merrimack, with Eva Rovello named Tournament MVP and Cherisse Atilano and Kayden Cupid earning all-tournament honors.

Rovello was named MEAC Player of the Week on Monday and Cupid MEAC Defensive Player of the Week. Cupid entered the week leading the nation with 72 total blocks, and Coppin State ranks second nationally with 138 as a team. Rovello's 501 assists are third-most in Division I.

The Eagles set a school record with 18.0 blocks in a five-set loss to Penn and hit a school-record .383 in a four-set win over Cleveland State, breaking a mark that had stood since 1992. Coppin State is in its 10th season under Tim Walsh, the winningest coach in program history, whose teams have gone 49-7 in MEAC play since 2022. The Eagles will host the MEAC Championship in Baltimore from Nov. 20-22.

Sunday's match pits the MEAC's two highest-volume attackers against each other, with Gilbert (452 attack attempts) trailing only Atilano (460), and sends Gilbert against a Coppin State block anchored by the national leader in total blocks.

SERIES HISTORY
Coppin State leads the all-time series with Norfolk State, 31-16. Morgan State holds a 29-15 edge over the Spartans.

UP NEXT
Norfolk State travels to Hampton for a non-conference rematch on Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 6 p.m. The Spartans resume MEAC play at home against Maryland Eastern Shore on Friday, Oct. 2, at 6 p.m. in Gill Gymnasium before heading to Delaware State on Sunday, Oct. 4, at noon.

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.