NORFOLK, Va. – The Hampton University volleyball team fell to rival Norfolk State in straight sets on Friday at Echols Hall, as the Spartans came away with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 29-27) win.

The Lady Pirates are now 13-12 overall on the season and 4-2 in MEAC play. The Spartans are also 4-2 in the MEAC Northern Division and 8-18 overall.

Hampton jumped out to a 7-4 lead in the first set after back-to-back kills from sophomore Sonja Maksimovic (Belgrade, Serbia)  before sophomore Krista Kraskura (Kuldiga, Latvia) added a kill later in the set to put the Lady Pirates up 11-8.

Norfolk State battled back, going on a 9-3 run to take a 17-14 lead. Maksimovic teamed with junior Petra Parros (Bloomfield, N.J.) on a block on the next rally to pull the Lady Pirates within two, 17-15, but the Spartans gradually pulled away, closing the set on an 8-4 run.

The Spartans hit .250 in the first set.

Norfolk State took control early in the second set, taking an 8-2 lead before the Lady Pirates responded with four unanswered points, closing to within 8-6 after a service ace from sophomore Vendula Strakova (Brno, Czech Republic).

After the Spartans began to pull away again, Maksimovic recorded a kill to cut Norfolk State's lead to 14-11. Strakova later cut the Spartans' lead to two, 16-14, with a kill, before Norfolk State scored six straight points to go up 22-14.

Strakova had a kill to cut the lead to 24-20, but the Spartans still took the set, thanks to a match-best .333 hitting percentage (14 kills, two errors in 36 attacks).

Norfolk State opened the third set with a 4-1 run, before the Lady Pirates tied the set at 4-4. The Spartans took the lead again, eventually being up by as many as three – 16-13. The Spartans later led 22-19, but the Lady Pirates scored four straight points to go up 23-22 on a block from Kraskura and senior Mariah Baylor (Minneapolis, Minn.).

After the Spartans tied the set, Hampton took a 24-23 lead on a Baylor kill. From there, Norfolk State took a 25-24 lead, before the Lady Pirates scored back-to-back points to go up 26-25 on a Maksimovic kill.

Strakova had a kill of her own late to put Hampton up 27-26.

But the Spartans scored three straight points to clinch the set 29-27 and win the match in straight sets – marking the first time since 2007 that Norfolk State beat the Lady Pirates in three sets.

Norfolk State hit .281 for the match, compared to a .231 hitting percentage (43 kills, 16 errors in 117 total attacks) for the Lady Pirates. The Spartans also held a 9-3 edge in service aces and a 7.0-6.0 advantage in total team blocks.

Strakova led the Lady Pirates with 15 kills to go along with eight digs and two service aces. Kraskura added 12 kills and a team-high 17 digs, hitting .296 thanks to just four errors in 27 attacks.

Junior Bibiany Fonseca (Uberlandia, Brazil) had 38 of Hampton's 41 assists.

Junior Sheileen Pagan (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico) added 12 digs on defense.

The Lady Pirates will return to action on Sunday, when they return to Holland Hall for the second part of the Battle of the Bay against Norfolk State 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.