Box Score

NORFOLK, Va. – Following an all-too-close five-set win over Hampton earlier in the season, the Norfolk State volleyball team took care of business Wednesday night in a 3-0 victory over the Lady Pirates at Joseph Echols Hall.

In front of the biggest home crowd of the season and on Greek Night, the Spartans jumped out to a 25-18 win in the first set and won the last two sets by identical 25-19 scores.

The win put NSU at 12-18 on the season, the second-most wins the program has had since moving to Division I in 1997, trailing the 19 victories posted by the 1998 squad. Hampton fell to 7-24 on the year.

With a 4-2 MEAC record, NSU can force a three-way tie for first place in the Southern Division by defeating Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M Friday and Sunday. South Carolina State sits in second place with a 6-2 mark, while the Rattlers own a 6-1 record with NSU still on tap.

Sophomore Charlotte Armstead had a solid all-around game against Hampton with 16 kills on a .483 attack percentage with three blocks. Freshman Arielle Knafel totaled eight kills and nine digs, while freshman Noelle Eagles added a match-high 12 digs.

Junior Nicole Kessner posted 32 assists on the night as NSU hit .286 for the match with just 13 attack errors. It marked the second-highest percentage NSU has hit in a match this season. Hampton attack at a .105 clip and had just 16 attack errors, but the Spartans held a 39-25 edge in kills.

In addition, NSU also posted more digs, 43-31, blocks, 5-2, and service aces, 7-6.

The Pirates were led by Aaryn Harrison with nine kills, while Brittany Hill had nine digs. Juliana Chavez and Lihi Elkayam each added nine assists.

A 2-1 lead to start the first set for Hampton was rather quickly erased when a kill by Armstead started an 8-0 run that made it 9-2 early on. Up 12-7, a kill by Knafel started a 4-0 run that pushed the lead to nine at 16-7, but Hampton scored six of the next eight points to cut the lead to four, 17-13.

The Pirates stayed close to that four-point margin, but after the teams traded several service errors and aces, two attack errors on the Pirates and a kill by the hands of junior Jasmine Frazier ended the first set, 25-18.

NSU could not shake the Pirates early in the second set, that is before a 4-4 tie turned into an 11-5 lead thanks in part to a 7-1 run, the last four of the those points from kills by the Spartan front attack. Knafel added a service ace a short time later that ended another 4-0 run, pushing the lead to nine at 15-6.

Hampton got to within six but was unable to get any closer until late in the set when they cut the lead to five at 24-19. After an NSU timeout there, freshman Kylee Thiim got in on the offensive attack with a kill to end the set, 25-19.

Kessner was credited with 14 assists in the set, as Armstead piled up eight kills in that second stanza.

Sophomore Ellica Morris knocked down a service ace for a 6-3 lead in the early part of the third set. After Hampton cut the lead to one at 8-7, NSU again went on a 4-0 run, part of an overall 7-1 run, that was capped by Armstead's third service ace of the night.

Hampton did not let up, getting to within three at 15-12 before back-to-back kills by Frazier sparked a 5-1 run that upped the score to 20-13. After Hampton made it 23-18, Armstead landed the last two points of the night for the Spartans over the last three serves for a 25-19 third-set win.

NSU will wrap up MEAC regular season competition Friday at Bethune-Cookman and Sunday at Florida A&M with that share of first place on the line.