Box Scores: NCAT | NCCU

PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – The Hampton University volleyball team won both its matches in the Maryland Eastern Shore hawk Invitational on Saturday, sweeping North Carolina A&T and North Carolina Central at the William P. Hytche Athletic Center.

The Lady Pirates (4-16) have won three straight matches and four of their last six.

Hampton opened play on Saturday by defeating North Carolina A&T 3-0 (25-15, 25-7, 25-12), thanks to a .426 team hitting percentage on the strength of 33 kills and just seven errors in 61 total attacks. After four ties in the first set, the Lady Pirates dominated, never relinquishing the lead again.

The Lady Pirates' season-best hitting percentage came thanks in large part to a .562 team hitting percentage (nine kills, no errors in 16 attacks) in the second set and a .474 hitting percentage (11 kills, two errors in 19 attacks) in the third set.

The Lady Pirates also had a season-high 19 service aces to the Aggies' four.

Junior Mianna Armstrong (Lomond, Alberta) had her breakout match of the season, leading the Lady Pirates with 11 kills and a .625 hitting percentage thanks to just one error in 16 attacks. Sophomore Mariah Baylor (Minneapolis, Minn.) had five kills in eight attacks, while junior Lina Cordoba (Bogota, Columbia), sophomore Virginia Chell (Emerald Park, Saskatchewan) and freshman Petra Parros (Bloomfield, New Jersey) each had four kills.

Senior Ivana Suput (Zitiste, Serbia), on top of recording a team-high eight digs on defense, led the Lady Pirates with a career-high eight service aces.

Junior Lihi Elkayam (Misgav, Israel) had 23 of Hampton's 27 assists.

Andrea Evans and Elisha Boyer each had three kills to lead North Carolina A&T.

Hampton has now beat North Carolina A&T twice in a row, after the Aggies won the first 22 meetings in the all-time series.

The Lady Pirates followed up that strong performance by beating North Carolina Central for the third time this season, this time 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-20). The Lady Pirates hit .192 as a team, thanks to 32 kills and 18 errors in 73 total attacks. Hampton hit a team-best .227 (10 kills, five errors in 22 attacks) in the second set.

Hampton also held a 10-5 advantage in service aces.

Senior Aaryn Harrison (Cary, N.C.) and freshman Sheileen Pagan (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico) each led the Lady Pirates with 10 kills, and Pagan led the team with a .389 hitting percentage thanks to just three errors in 18 attacks.

Harrison, with 12 kills total on Saturday, is now 34 kills shy of 1,000 for her career.

Armstrong led Hampton with four service aces against NCCU, while Elkayam recorded a team-high 27 assists. Suput and Pagan each led the way on defense with seven digs. Armstrong added six digs on defense.

Belinda Behncke-Viney led NCCU with nine kills.

The Lady Pirates will look to carry the momentum of their three-match winning streak into conference play, which starts on Friday against Delaware State at 6 p.m. in Holland Hall. For more information on Hampton University volleyball, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.