Box Score

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University volleyball team lost its second straight match on Friday, as Norfolk State won 3-2 (18-25, 25-20, 16-25, 25-17, 16-14) in front of Homecoming crowd at Holland Hall.

With the loss, the Lady Pirates fall to 9-11 overall on the season and 4-3 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play. Norfolk State improved to 7-11 overall and 3-3 in the MEAC Northern Division.

The Lady Pirates jumped out to a 5-1 lead to open the first set, thanks in large part to a pair of kills from sophomore Ioana Kalfinova (Sofia, Bulgaria). Norfolk State closed to within 7-6, but a kill from freshman Krista Kraskura (Kuldiga, Latvia) kicked off a 6-2 run, as Hampton took a 13-8 lead on a kill from sophomore Petra Parros (Bloomfield, N.J.).

Junior Ornela Cadavid (Cali, Colombia) blocked the Spartans on set point to give the Lady Pirates the 25-18 win.

Norfolk State fired back, jumping to an 11-4 lead in the second set, before the Lady Pirates scored six unanswered points to claw within 11-10 after a service ace from senior Mianna Armstrong (Lomond, Alberta).

The Spartans answered with four straight points to re-establish control, before winning the second set 25-20.

Freshman Sonja Maksimovic (Belgrade, Serbia) slammed home a kill early in the third set to put Hampton up 4-1, before a Cadavid block later in the set put the Lady Pirates up 11-6. Norfolk State closed to within 14-13, but kills from Maksimovic and Parros kicked off a 7-0 Lady Pirates run – that ended with back-to-back aces from Maksimovic – before Hampton won the third set 25-16.

Senior Juliana Chavez (Bogota, Colombia) opened the fourth set with a kill, but Norfolk State bounced back to take a 5-2 lead. Kraskura would tie the set at 13-13 with a service ace later in the set, but the Spartans scored six unanswered points to regain control and take the fourth set 25-17.

That momentum carried over for Norfolk State; after a 5-5 tie, the Spartans went on a 5-1 run to take a 10-6 lead. A Kraskura kill started to bring Hampton back, as the Lady Pirates went on a 6-2 run to tie the set at 12-12.

Norfolk State jumped back out to a 14-12 lead to force match point, before Armstrong answered with a kill to extend the match and a Spartans error tied the set at 14-14.

But the Spartans scored the last two points to clinch the set, 16-14, and the match.

The Lady Pirates hit .138 for the match, recording 46 kills and 27 errors in 138 total attacks. Hampton hit a team-best .250 (11 kills, five errors in 24 attacks), while also hitting .219 in the first set, thanks to 11 kills and four errors in 32 attacks.

Norfolk State hit .123 for the match, with 57 kills and 38 errors in 154 attacks. The Spartans hit a team-best .279 in the fourth set, recording 18 kills and six errors in 43 attacks.

The Spartans also held a 5-4 edge in service aces.

Kraskura led the Lady Pirates with 12 kills, while also recording a team-high 15 digs on defense for her seventh double-double of the season. Parros had a career-high 10 kills, hitting .500 with just four errors in 18 attacks.

Chavez led Hampton 22 assists, while senior Lihi Elkayam (Misgav, Israel) added 18. Sophomore Sheileen Pagan (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico) added 13 digs on defense.

Charlotte Armstead led the Spartans with 15 kills, while Adriana Ramos added 13 kills and 12 digs on defense. Kristen Burt had 40 of Norfolk State's 50 assists.

The Lady Pirates will return to action on Friday, when they head to Baltimore, Md. to take on Coppin State at 6 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.