Box Score

NORFOLK, Va. – The Hampton University volleyball team won its Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) opener on Wednesday night, beating archrival Norfolk State 3-1 (14-25, 25-18, 25-22, 30-28) in Echols Hall.

The Lady Pirates (4-7, 1-0 MEAC) have now won two straight matches.

Norfolk State seized control of the first set, going on a 6-0 run after the Lady Pirates cut the Spartans' lead to 7-5 to go up 13-5. Hampton would get no closer than within seven the rest of the way, as Norfolk State took the first set 25-14.

The Lady Pirates responded by opening the second set on an 8-2 run – a run in which Hampton scored four points off blocks at the net. Sophomore Petra Parros (Bloomfield, N.J.), who led the team with seven blocks, had a hand in all four plays.

Junior Mariah Baylor (Minneapolis, Minn.) and freshman Krista Kraskura (Kuldiga, Latvia) teamed up on a block later in the set to put Hampton up 18-11. Kraskura later added a kill to put the Lady Pirates up 20-14. The Spartans closed to within 20-16 after a 5-1 run, but Hampton maintained control and won the second set going away.

Hampton then opened the third set with a 4-1 run, then took a 7-3 lead after Parros and sophomore Ioana Kalfinova (Sofia, Bulgaria) teamed up on a block. Hampton would go on to lead 14-10, before the Spartans responded with seven unanswered points to take a 17-14 lead. Kalfinova stopped the proverbial bleeding with a kill, before senior Mianna Armstrong (Lomond, Alberta) added a kill of her own to bring the Lady Pirates within one.

The score was tied three times down the stretch, lastly at 20-20, before Kalfinova gave the Lady Pirates a 21-20 lead with a kill. Kraskura and Baylor then scored on three straight rallies to give Hampton a 24-20 lead and control of the third set.

Armstrong gave Hampton a 3-2 lead with a kill early in the fourth set, and the Lady Pirates appeared to be on cruise control from that point forward. Baylor recorded a kill later in the set to put Hampton up 21-14, and a Kalfinova kill made the score 24-18 and triggered match point.

But Norfolk State responded by scoring the next six points to tie the set at 24-24. Kranskura ended a long rally with a kill to give Hampton the lead right back, but the two teams would embark on an exhilarating back-and-forth that saw four ties and two lead changes.

After the Spartans forced a 28-28 tie, Armstrong gave Hampton a 29-28 lead with a kill, before a Norfolk State attack error clinched the match.

The Lady Pirates hit .161 as a team, recording 50 kills and 22 errors in 174 total attacks. Hampton's best set was the second, in which the Lady Pirates hit .273 (11 kills, two errors in 33 total attacks). Hampton also hit .190 (17 kills, six errors in 58 attacks) in the fourth set.

The Spartans (4-9, 0-1 MEAC) hit .118 as a team, recording 56 kills and 34 errors in 187 total attacks. Norfolk State hit a team-best .212 in the first set, with 11 kills and four errors in 33 total attacks, and .186 (21 kills, 10 errors in 59 attacks) in the fourth set.

Norfolk State held a 5-2 edge in service aces.

Kraskura recorded her second career double-double, leading the team with 16 kills while adding 18 digs on defense. She also had five block assists and hit a team-best .244 thanks to just five errors in 45 total attacks.

Armstrong added nine kills and one of Hampton's two service aces, while Kalfinova added eight kills.

Senior Lihi Elkayam (Misgav, Israel) had 36 of Hampton's 44 assists, leaving her just 57 assist shy of tying the all-time school record for career assists.

Sophomore Sheileen Pagan (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico) led the way with 30 digs on defense, while Kalfinova added 12 to give the Lady Pirates three players with double-digit digs.

Beatriz  Ferreira led Norfolk State with 16 kills, while Adriana Ramos added 13 kills and Charlotte Armstead recorded 12.

The Lady Pirates will return to action on Friday and Saturday, when they head to Princess Anne, Md. to compete in the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawk Invitational. Hampton will open on Friday against North Carolina Central 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.