Weekly Notes

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University volleyball team will hit the road on Wednesday, traveling to Baltimore, Md. to take on Morgan State at the Hill Field House, before returning to Holland Hall on Friday to square off against archrival Norfolk State.

Both matches will begin at 6 p.m.

The Lady Pirates (9-9, 4-1 MEAC) are in second place in the MEAC Northern Division following a weekend split with Maryland Eastern Shore and Delaware State. Hampton fell in straight sets to first-place UMES on Friday, before beating the Lady Hornets in five sets on Sunday.

The Lady Pirates have already eclipsed last season's win total, picking up their eighth win of the season on Oct. 7 against Howard in four sets. Hampton has also surpassed its conference win total from 2010, sitting at 4-1 in the MEAC North following Sunday's win over Delaware State.

Morgan State (3-17, 1-3 MEAC) has lost four straight matches and sits sixth in the MEAC North following a five-set loss at Howard on Sunday. Norfolk State (6-11, 2-3 MEAC) is in fourth place in the MEAC North after falling in straight sets to UMES on Sunday.

The top four teams in each division will qualify for the 2011 MEAC Championships (Nov. 18-20, hosted by Coppin State).

Senior Lihi Elkayam (Misgav, Israel) recorded a season-high 44 assists on Sunday against Delaware State, making her the all-time career assists leader at Hampton; with 342 assists in 52 sets played this season, Elkayam has 2,598 career assists.

So far this season, Elkayam is averaging 6.58 assists per set, eighth-most in the MEAC, and her 7.60 career assists per set average is the third-best in program history.

Sophomore Sheileen Pagan (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico) sits fifth in the MEAC in digs, totaling 201 for the season and averaging 3.47 per set. She leads the MEAC in digs in conference play, averaging 5.55 digs per set against MEAC North competition.

Junior Mariah Baylor (Minneapolis, Minn.) is third in the MEAC in blocks in conference play, totaling 19.0 blocks – 1.12 per set – in 17 sets played in MEAC action.

Freshman Krista Kraskura (Kuldiga, Latvia), who had 18 kills and 21 digs on Sunday against Delaware State for her sixth double-double of the season, is sixth in the MEAC in digs in conference play (3.53 per set) and tied for seventh in the MEAC in kills in  conference play (3.35 per set).

She is also 10th in the MEAC in points in conference play, tallying 62.0 points – 3.65 per set.

Hampton is 2-32 all-time against Morgan State, and the Lady Bears have won the last four meetings. Hampton's only two wins over Morgan State came in the 2008 season, when the Lady Pirates swept the season series en route to their last MEAC Tournament appearance. Morgan State won both of last season's meetings in straight sets.

The Lady Pirates are 56-14 all-time against Norfolk State, including a four-set win at Echols Hall earlier this season on Sept. 28. Prior to the Lady Pirates' victory earlier this season, Norfolk State had won six in a row in the series.

Head coach Pedro Gonzalez is 2-6 against Morgan State and 3-6 against Norfolk State.

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.