Norfolk State website

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University volleyball team will return to action Tuesday evening for their first home match of the season, when they face archrival Norfolk State in Holland Hall at 6 p.m.

Though the Lady Pirates (0-4) hosted the Tiny L. Laster Memorial Tournament this past weekend, their four matches in that tournament were classified as neutral-court contests. Hampton lost 3-0 in each of its matches over the weekend, falling to Bryant, Wofford, Towson and Maryland-Eastern Shore.

Freshman Sheileen Pagan (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico) leads the Lady Pirates and is eighth in the MEAC in kills so far this season, recording 29 of them in four matches for an average of 2.64 per set. The Co-MVP of the Tiny L. Laster Memorial Tournament is hitting .146 on this young season, while junior Lina Cordoba (Bogota , Columbia) has the team's best hitting percentage at .206 (12 kills, five errors in 34 total attacks).

Hampton has three service aces so far this season: one each from sophomore Ornela Cadavid (Cali, Colombia), senior Brittany Wynne (Sacramento, Calif.) and junior Lihi Elkayam (Misgav, Israel).

Senior Aaryn Harrison (Cary, N.C.) is tied for the MEAC lead with Howard's Taylor Johnson in blocks, averaging 1.33 per set. Harrison, who was also named to the Tiny Laster All-Tournament Team, has 8.0 total blocks so far this season.

Elkayam has 107 of Hampton's 115 assists so far this season to lead the conference, averaging 8.92 per set, while senior Ivana Suput (Zitiste, Serbia) leads the team and the conference with 35 digs on defense – despite only playing in two matches so far. Pagan is second on the team with 25 digs, averaging 2.25 per set.

Norfolk State (2-2) opened its season this past weekend by hosting the Spartan Classic. The Lady Spartans, under the direction of first-year head coach Brandon Duvall, beat Providence and the U.S. Naval Academy on Friday, before falling on Saturday to UNC-Greensboro and Kent State.

Freshman Arielle Knafel leads the Lady Spartans and is second in the MEAC with 59 kills so far this season, averaging 3.69 per set and recording a team-high five service aces. Knafel also leads the conference with 4.12 points scored per set. Sophomore Paige Gary-Canty is second on the team with 45 kills – an average of 2.81 per set.

With 39 kills and 21 errors in 88 total attacks, sophomore Charlotte Armstead leads Norfolk State with a .205 hitting percentage. Junior Nicole Kessner leads the team and sits second in the MEAC with 148 assists (9.25 per set), while freshman Noelle Eagles has a team-high 84 digs on defense (5.25 per set) to rank second in the conference.

Norfolk State won both of last season's meetings, beating the Lady Pirates 3-1 in Echols Hall before adding a 3-1 win in Holland Hall to close out the regular season. In all, Norfolk State has won four straight in the series and five of the last six.

Hampton last defeated Norfolk State in 2007, closing out the regular season with a 3-0 win at Holland Hall.

Following Tuesday's match, the Lady Pirates will head to Williamsburg, Va. this Friday and Saturday for the William & Mary Invitational. Hampton will face American on Friday at 4 p.m., before facing William & Mary at 1 p.m. and Campbell at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

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.