HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University volleyball team dropped its second straight match on Sunday, as rival Norfolk State beat the Lady Pirates 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-18) at Holland Hall.

The Lady Pirates are now 13-13 overall on the season and 4-3 in the MEAC Northern Division, while Norfolk State is 9-18 overall and 5-2 in conference play.

Hampton jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first set following a pair of service aces from junior Bibiany Fonseca (Uberlandia, Brazil), but the Spartans scored three straight to take a 4-3 lead. Norfolk State later took a 7-5 lead, before the Lady Pirates tied the set at 7-7 after sophomores Sonja Maksimovic (Belgrade, Serbia) and Marija Kocevska (SkopjeKarpos, Macedonia) teamed on a block.

The Lady Pirates later took a 9-8 lead, then later led 12-11 after Fonseca and senior Mariah Baylor (Minneapolis, Minn.) teamed on another block. The teams exchanged points over the next several tallies, before Norfolk State took an 18-15 lead.

Sophomore Krista Kraskura (Kuldiga, Latvia) used a kill later in the set to cut Norfolk State's lead to 20-19, then she later tied the set at 22-22 with a service ace. Norfolk State scored the next two points to go up 24-22, then clinched the set 25-23.

The Spartans hit .214 in the first set, before hitting a team-best .294 in the second set, recording 15 kills and just five errors in 34 total attacks. Norfolk State jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the second set, then later led 11-4.

Norfolk State later went up 19-10, then led 24-12 – the Spartans' largest lead of the set – before the Lady Pirates scored seven straight points, closing the lead to 24-19 on a kill from Fonseca before the Spartans clinched the second set on the following rally.

The Spartans led the third set 7-3, before the Lady Pirates scored back-to-back points to close that gap to 7-5. A kill from sophomore Vendula Strakova (Brno, Czech Republic) later in the set closed the gap to 12-11.

Baylor later added a kill to cut Hampton's lead to 13-12, before the Spartans jumped back out to a 20-15 lead. Norfolk State then out-scored the Lady Pirates 5-3 down the stretch to take the set and win the match in straight sets.

Hampton hit .139 for the match, recording 35 kills and 21 errors in 101 total attacks. Both the Spartans and Lady Pirates each had four service aces on the afternoon.

Strakova led the Lady Pirates with 14 kills, hitting a team-best .290 for the match. She also tied for the team high eight digs on defense, along with freshman Samantha Sours (Yorktown, Va.).

Kraskura added 11 kills, and Fonseca had 33 of Hampton's 34 assists.

The Lady Pirates will return to action on Friday, when they play host to Coppin State in Holland Hall 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.