NORFOLK, Va. — The Norfolk State volleyball team pushed William & Mary to the brink in the third set before the Tribe closed out a 3-0 win (25-17, 25-16, 27-25) on Tuesday night at Gill Gymnasium in front of 312 fans.
Norfolk State (2-3) held a set point at 24-23 in the third and led by as many as four points twice, but William & Mary (3-3) answered with three of the final four points to complete the sweep.
Gabrielle Gilbert paced the Spartans with a match-high-tying 10 kills to go with two service aces, six digs and a team-best 12.5 points. The senior now sits at 1,176 career kills, two shy of passing Charlotte Armstead (2009-12) for the Norfolk State all-time record of 1,177. Gilbert has reached double figures in kills in all five matches this season, and her two aces moved her to 112 for her career, 11th in program history.
Kyleigh Moore added eight kills, seven digs, three block assists and an ace, while Jazeli Vandenburgh anchored the back row with 15 digs and two aces.
Isis Castille was efficient in a reserve role, hitting .444 with four kills on nine swings, and Ava Berry recorded four block assists. Nehir Erimez distributed 12 assists and Jasmine Mataira added eight.
The Spartans served six aces on the night and now have 61 on the season, an average of 3.21 per set, and have out-aced their opponents 61-46. Briana Ellis leads the team with 14 aces, followed by Gilbert, Mataira and Vandenburgh with 12 apiece.
Norfolk State out-blocked the Tribe 5.0-4.0 but was outhit .340 to .146 on the night, as William & Mary posted 44 kills to NSU's 28.
The Spartans trailed 6-1 in the opening set before a four-point run pulled them within 13-11, but William & Mary closed on a 12-6 push to take the set. The visitors built a 10-point cushion in the second and never let Norfolk State closer than five the rest of the way.
The third set was a different match. Norfolk State scored five straight to turn a 3-3 tie into an 8-3 advantage and led 17-13 before William & Mary rallied. Back-to-back aces trimmed the deficit to one, and the Tribe pulled even at 19-19. The teams traded points from there — Castille's kill gave NSU set point at 24-23 — but William & Mary answered, saved a second match point at 25-25 and closed on two straight.
RECORDS WATCH
Senior Gabrielle Gilbert continues to close in on two of Norfolk State's all-time career marks:
- Career Kills: Gilbert has 1,176, one shy of tying and two shy of passing Charlotte Armstead (2009-12) for the program record of 1,177. She has recorded double figures in kills in all five matches this season and has not been held under 10 since Oct. 12, 2025.
- Career Points: Gilbert sits 43.5 points from Armstead's program record of 1,399.5. She has averaged 15.9 points per match this season and posted 12.5 against William & Mary.
- Career Service Aces: Gilbert moved to 112 with two aces on Tuesday, ranking 11th in program history. Two more would tie Adriana Ramos at 114 for 10th.
- Career Attack Attempts: Gilbert already owns the program record and became the first Spartan to reach 3,000 for her career in the season opener against USC Upstate.
UP NEXT
The Spartans return to action Friday, Sept. 11, when they travel to Wilmington, N.C., for the UNCW Hampton Inn University Invitational. Norfolk State opens against host UNCW at noon before facing Harvard at 4:30 p.m., then closes the weekend against UNC Asheville on Saturday at 11 a.m.
