Box Scores: Texas-Pan American | Norfolk State

NORFOLK, Va. – The Hampton University volleyball team split a pair of matches at Echols Hall on Saturday, earning them the runner-up spot in the 2012 Spartan Invitational hosted by rival Norfolk State.

The Lady Pirates (9-10) defeated Norfolk State in the nightcap, taking a spirited five-set battle 3-2 (23-25, 25-22. 25-23. 20-25, 15-7), after Texas-Pan American beat Hampton 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 26-24) in the morning match.

Sophomores Krista Kraskura (Kuldiga, Latvia) and Vendula Strakova (Brno, Czech Republic) were both named to the All-Tournament Team.

The Lady Pirates jumped out and took control early in the evening match against the host Spartans; after senior Mariah Baylor (Minneapolis, Minn.) recorded her second kill of the match, the Lady Pirates held a 7-0 lead in the first set.

Back-to-back kills from Kraskura gave Hampton a 19-5 lead in the first set, and it appeared the Lady Pirates would cruise on to take that set. But the Spartans (2-15) had other ideas; Norfolk State scored the next five points to cut that lead to 19-10, and that was just the beginning.

The Spartans closed the first set with a 20-4 run, forcing two ties along the way before finally stealing the set 25-23.

The Lady Pirates bounced back against their rivals, going up 5-2 in the second set following a Kraskura kill. The lead grew to 8-5, before the Spartans went on a 4-0 run to take a 9-8 lead. Baylor gave the Lady Pirates a 14-12 lead with a kill, before a 5-0 Norfolk State run put the Spartans back on top 17-14.

Norfolk State later led 21-20, before Kraskura registered back-to-back kills to put Hampton up 22-21. Another tie followed, before the Lady Pirates closed the set with three straight to even the match at 1-1.

That momentum carried into the third set, as the Lady Pirates jumped out to a 10-5 lead following a kill from freshman Allysa Medina (Menifee, Calif.). Baylor and sophomore Sonja Maksimovic (Belgrade, Serbia) later teamed on a block to put Hampton up 12-7.

The Spartans took a brief 14-13 lead, before Hampton answered with three straight points to go up 16-14 on a Strakova kill. Norfolk State also led twice down the stretch, most recently at 23-22, before Strakova tied the set with another kill.

Baylor and Medina gave the Lady Pirates a 24-23 lead with a block, before Strakova and Baylor again blocked the Spartans to clinch the set and take a 2-1 lead.

Hampton and Norfolk State battled back-and-forth early in the fourth set, before the Spartans went up for good by taking a 9-8 lead. That lead was as large as six on a few occasions – most recently at 22-16 – before the Lady Pirates cut that lead to 23-20 on a Kraskura kill.

The Spartans hung on, though, to force the decisive fifth set.

Norfolk State took an early 2-1 lead in the fifth set, before the Lady Pirates battled back and wrestled the lead away for good when they answered a 5-5 tie with a 4-0 run to go up 9-5. Medina registered a kill to put Hampton up 11-6, before the Lady Pirates scored the last four points of the match.

Strakova, appropriately, registered the final kill.

Hampton hit a team-best .389 in the final set, with nine kills and just two errors in 18 attacks.

Kraskura and Strakova each registered double-doubles; Kraskura had a team-high 21 kills and 16 digs, while Strakova added 18 kills and 13 digs on defense. Kraskura now has nine double-doubles on the season, matching her total from last year, while Strakova has five double-doubles.

Maksimovic had a career-high 51 assists filling in as setter, to go along with nine digs and five blocks. Baylor added a career-high 10 blocks, while junior Petra Parros (Bloomfield, N.J.) hit .368 with eight kills and just one error in 19 attacks.

Freshman Samantha Sours (Yorktown, Va.) had a team- and career-high 21 digs.

Texas Pan-American took early control of the morning match, jumping out to a 9-5 lead in the first set after going on a 4-0 run to break a 5-5 tie. That lead eventually grew to 17-11 for the Broncs (6-10), before Kraskura cut the lead to three, 21-18, with a kill.

Back-to-back kills from Medina later in the set cut the Broncs' lead to 24-22, but Texas-Pan American still took the first set 25-22.

The Lady Pirates rebounded to hit a team-best .370 in the second set, recording 14 kills and just four errors in 27 attacks. In fact, Hampton led the set 11-7 after a Strakova kill, before going up 13-9. The Broncs answered with a 4-0 run to tie the set at 13-13, but Hampton regained the lead on the next rally on a Strakova kill.

Maksimovic recorded a service ace to put Hampton up 19-16, before Texas-Pan American went on a 5-0 run to take a 21-19 lead. That lead grew to 24-21, before Hampton scored three unanswered to tie the set at 24-24 after a kill from Strakova.

But the Broncs scored the next two points to steal the set and take a 2-0 lead.

The Broncs used that momentum to grab control early in the third set, going up 9-6, before a 7-0 Hampton run gave the Lady Pirates a 13-9 lead. The Lady Pirates eventually led 18-12, before the Broncs went on an 8-0 run to take a 20-18 lead.

Baylor tied the set at 23-23 with a kill, before Texas-Pan American retook the lead on the following rally. Strakova then tied the set at 24-24 with a kill of her own, but the Broncs scored the last two points to take the set and the match.

Strakova led the Lady Pirates with 10 kills against Texas-Pan American, while Kraskura had six kills to go along with 11 digs on defense. Sours added a team-high 14 digs, and Maksimovic had 28 of Hampton's 33 assists.

Texas-Pan American went 3-0 for the weekend, winning the tournament.

The Lady Pirates will return to action on Friday, when they open conference play in Baltimore, Md. against Morgan 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.