Box Score

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University volleyball team dropped its first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) match of the season Friday night, as Maryland Eastern Shore came into Holland Hall and took a 3-0 (25-17, 25-11, 25-16) win.

The loss was just Hampton's second in the last eight matches, and the Lady Pirates fell to 8-9 overall on the season and 3-1 in MEAC play. UMES took over first place in the MEAC Northern Division, improving to 13-6 with its eighth straight win and 4-0 in conference play.

After freshman Krista Kraskura (Kuldiga, Latvia) tied the first set at 1-1 with her first kill of the night, UMES went on a 5-1 run to take a 6-2 lead. The Lady Hawks steadily built up their lead as the set progressed, going up 19-12 before freshman Sonja Maksimovic (Belgrade, Serbia) answered with a kill to pull Hampton within 19-13.

That was as close as the Lady Pirates would get, as UMES took the first set 25-17.

Junior Ornela Cadavid (Cali, Colombia) started the second set with a kill to put Hampton up 1-0, but UMES answered with four straight points to re-take the lead. Cadavid answered with another kill to pull Hampton within 4-2, but UMES pulled away, outscoring the Lady Pirates 21-9 the rest of the way – cruising to a 25-11 win in the second set.

Cadavid and Maksimovic blocked UMES in the third set's opening rally to give Hampton the lead, and the set opened with six ties and three lead changes. Sophomore Ioana Kalfinova (Sofia, Bulgaria) recorded a kill to tie the set at 3-3, before Hampton took a 4-3 lead.

UMES would eventually go up 8-6, before sophomore Petra Parros (Bloomfield, N.J.) pulled Hampton within one with a kill. The Lady Hawks went on a 6-1 run to go up 14-8, taking control of the set and marching toward a 25-16 win to take the set and the match.

Hampton hit just .044 on the night, recording 27 kills and 23 errors in 90 total attacks. The Lady Pirates hit a team-best .143 in the third set, recording nine kills and five errors in 28 attacks.

UMES hit .382 (38 kills, nine errors in 76 attacks) as a team – including a team-best .706 in the second set, when the Lady Hawks recorded 12 kills and no errors in 17 attacks.

UMES also held a 4-1 edge in service aces.

Armstrong led the Lady Pirates with six kills, recording three errors in 21 attacks to hit .143 for the match. Maksimovic and Cadavid each added five kills for Hampton, while Parros hit .500 in limited action with two kills and no errors in four attacks.

Senior Lihi Elkayam (Misgav, Israel) came off the bench to record 21 of Hampton's 27 assists, leaving her seven shy of tying the school record for career assists.

Sophomore Sheileen Pagan (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico) led Hampton with eight digs on defense, while Kraskura added seven digs.

Maline Vaitai led UMES with 12 kills, while two-time MEAC Player of the Week Saitaua Iosia had 10 kills. Four Lady Hawks hit at least .400 for the match, led by Isoia and Ndidi Ibe – who each hit .444.

Jessica Vicic had 35 assists, while Rebecca Prado recorded 11 digs.

The Lady Pirates will return to action on Sunday, when they play host to Delaware State at Holland Hall at 3 p.m. 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.