Lady Rams Edged Out in 3-1 Loss to Norfolk State
Strong defensive effort not enough as Lady Rams take tough loss
The Winston-Salem State Lady Rams (4-17) took another heartbreaking loss, Sunday when the team fell to the Norfolk State Spartans (7-19, 3-3 MEAC), Sunday afternoon. The Lady Rams took their second 3-1 loss of the weekend falling to the Spartans by scores of 22-25, 25-21, 15-25, and 20-25.
Offensively, the Lady Rams had one of their best efforts of the season with 42 team kills, the second most for the entire season, including all four of the team’s wins. WSSU junior hitter Annika Barnwell set a team season-high with 14 kills in the match with only six errors. Her .216 attack percentage for the match was the second highest attack percentage of the season. Fellow junior Georgette Allen was also strong in the loss with six kills and two total blocks (one solo). Freshman middle hitter Jasmine Frazier added six kills and three block assists as well. Fellow freshman setter Asia Carr had a great effort in her first career start with 17 assists and two digs.
The Lady Rams held a lead in all three sets of the match. The Lady Rams held an 18-17 lead late in the first set before an 8-4 run by the Spartans ended the match. The second set saw the Lady Rams jump out to an early 7-4 lead before an 11-5 Norfolk State run put the Lady Rams behind, 12-15. The Lady Rams were able to tie the match 20-20 and outscore the Spartans 5-1 to seal the win. WSSU sophomore libero Erica Cole added a pair of service aces during the run and a Cole service error was the only point scored by the Spartans during the effort. The third set of the match was the toughest for the Lady Rams as the team jumped ahead to an early 4-0 lead, but was outscored 25-11 to finish the set. The Lady Rams gave up a 12-1 run to the Spartans that sealed the set loss for the squad.
The final set of the match once again saw the Lady Rams jump ahead early as the team opened the set with a 6-1 edge. However, it was another big run by the Spartans that put the Lady Rams behind in the set, 10-8. WSSU was outscored 9-2 during the run. The Lady Rams did show their fight, however, battling to a 17-16 lead over the Spartans. However, Norfolk State would go on another big run, 7-0, to put the Lady Rams behind, 17-23. WSSU was able to mount a run of their own when Frazier and Barnwell would notch back-to-back kills and jumpstart a 3-0 WSSU run that would get the Lady Rams back into the match. The match would end, however with back-to-back points by the Spartans on an NSU kill and a WSSU ballhandling error.
With the loss, the Lady Rams fall to 4-17 and take their seventh straight loss, but have notched set wins in back-to-back matches, something that the team hasn’t done since day one of the WSSU Lady Rams Invitational. The Lady Rams will return to the road when the team heads to Wilmington, N.C. to take on the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks in a Tuesday evening match.