BALTIMORE, Md. – For the second straight season, the Hampton University volleyball team defeated South Carolina State in the quarterfinals of the MEAC Championships – this time, the Lady Pirates won 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-17) on Friday at Coppin State's Physical Education Complex.

With the win, the Lady Pirates (19-13) tie the program Div. I record for most wins in a season and extend their winning streak to six matches – with five of those wins coming in straight sets. A win on Saturday would give the Lady Pirates their first 20-win season in Div. I program history.

Hampton, the No. 3 seed out of the Northern Division, will take on MEAC North top seed Maryland Eastern Shore in the semifinals on Saturday at 12 p.m.

The Lady Pirates jumped out to a 5-3 lead in the first set after a kill from sophomore Vendula Strakova (Brno, Czech Republic)  before South Carolina State closed the gap to 5-4. Hampton answered with five straight points, going up 10-4 after a kill from sophomore Sonja Maksimovic (Belgrade, Serbia).

South Carolina State later closed the gap to 14-12, but the Lady Pirates went on a 6-1 run to go up 20-13 after a block from sophomore Marija Kocevska (SkopjeKarpos, Macedonia). The Lady Bulldogs closed the gap to 22-16, but Hampton scored the last three points, taking the first set 25-16.

The Lady Pirates hit .333 (13 kills, four errors in 27 attacks in the first set, before again hitting .333 (14 kills, three errors in 33 attacks) in the second set.

South Carolina State led the second set 5-4, before three straight Hampton points gave the Lady Pirates a 7-5 lead on a kill from sophomore Krista Kraskura (Kuldiga, Latvia). SCSU later cut Hampton's lead to 10-8, before the Lady Pirates scored four straight points to go up 14-8.

Hampton's lead later grew to 21-15, before the Lady Bulldogs went on a 7-2 run to cut that lead to 23-22. Strakova and Maksimovic answered with kills in the next two rallies to squash the comeback and give the Lady Pirates the second set 25-22 and a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.

The Lady Bulldogs hit a team-best .371 (17 kills, four errors in 35 attacks) in the second set.

South Carolina State led the third set 7-6, before Hampton answered with an 8-1 run, taking a 14-8 lead on a kill from Strakova. Strakova added another kill two rallies later to put the Lady Pirates up 15-9.

The Lady Bulldogs cut the lead to 16-12, before three straight Hampton points put the Lady Pirates up 19-12 after a kill from junior Bibiany Fonseca (Uberlandia, Brazil). After SCSU cut the lead to 23-17, the Lady Pirates scored the last two points – clinching the match on a Kocevska kill.

Hampton hit a team-best .455 (13 kills, three errors in 22 attacks) in the third set.

The Lady Pirates hit .366 for the match, recording 40 kills and just 10 errors in 82 total attacks, while holding South Carolina State (9-15) to just .200 hitting (38 kills, 20 errors in 90 attacks). Hampton also held a 4-2 edge in service aces and a 6-4 advantage in blocks.

The Lady Bulldogs committed seven service errors, compared to just two for Hampton.

Strakova led the Lady Pirates with 14 kills, hitting .321 for the match with five errors in 28 attacks. Kraskura, a First Team All-MEAC selection, added nine kills and just two errors in 21 attacks for a .333 hitting percentage.

Maksimovic hit .444 for the match, with four kills and no errors in nine attacks.

Fonseca, a Second Team All-MEAC selection, had 31 of Hampton's 35 assists, while also recording four kills, hitting .600, and recording two of the Lady Pirates' four service aces. Junior Sheileen Pagan (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico) had a team-high 16 digs on defense.

Desire Waller, the MEAC Player of the Year, had 18 kills to lead South Carolina 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.