CHICAGO, Ill. – Seniors Vendula Strakova and Krista Kraskura provided plenty of offense Friday evening, as the Hampton University volleyball team edged Bradley 3-2 (24-26, 25-13, 25-17, 21-25, 15-13) in McGrath-Phillips Arena to open the DePaul Invitational.
 
Strakova (Brno, Czech Republic), the MEAC Preseason Player of the Year, led the team with 25 kills, hitting .340 and recording two aces, while Kraskura (Kuldiga, Latvia) chipped in 18 kills while also tying the team high in digs with 12.
 
The Lady Pirates (1-0) have won five of their last seven five-set matches dating back to last season.

"This was a great win over a tough, up-and-coming program in the Missouri Valley Conference," head coach Karen Weatherington, in her second season, said. "Vendy and Krista were spectacular for us."
 
The deciding set was a tight affair, with one lead change and five times, before Strakova had a kill and an ace from senior Kitija Megne (Kuldiga, Latvia) gave the Lady Pirates a 10-8 lead. Later, Strakova and redshirt freshman Kennedy Kenney (Milpitas, Calif.) paired on a block to put Hampton up 12-9.
 
A sixth tie came about when Bradley went on a 4-1 spurt to tie the set 13-13.
 
Strakova stopped that run with a kill, before a Bradley error clinched the set and the match.
 
Despite hitting .423 in the first set, the Lady Pirates trailed for much of the opening frame – though they used an 8-2 run to take a 19-18 lead after seniors Marija Kocevksa (SkopjeKarpos, Macedonia) and Megne teamed up on a block.
 
Hampton later led 21-20, before Bradley scored six of the last 10 points to take the set and a 1-0 lead.
 
But the Lady Pirates immediately grabbed momentum, opening the second set with five straight points. Hampton took advantage of several Bradley miscues in the opening stages of the second set, including an attack error that gave the Lady Pirates a 10-4 lead.
 
After Bradley cut the lead to 11-7, the Lady Pirates scored the next nine points – taking a 20-7 lead on a setting error. Kraskura later recorded a kill to put the Lady Pirates up 23-9. Bradley answered with four of the next five points, cutting the lead to 24-13, before Strakova ended the set with a kill to tie the match at 1-1.
 
Hampton hit .227 in the second set.
 
A kill from senior Sonja Maksimovic (Belgrade, Serbia) gave the Lady Pirates an 11-7 lead, but Bradley scored the next five points to take a 12-11 lead. Hampton responded, though, scoring six of the next seven points – taking a19-13 lead on a Bradley attack error.
 
After Bradley cut the lead to 19-15, the Lady Pirates went on a 5-0 run, forcing set point after a Strakova kill put Hampton up 24-16. Bradley ended the run with a Jessie Tulacka kill, but Bradley then recorded another error to give the Lady Pirates the set and a 2-1 lead.
 
Hampton hit .480 in the third set, racking up 15 kills and committing just three errors in 25 attacks.
 
Bradley held an 11-8 lead in the early stages of the fourth set, before the Lady Pirates rattled off four straight points to take a 12-11 lead after a kill from Strakova. Bradley scored six of the next nine points, though, taking a 17-15 lead.
 
Kenney answered with a kill to cut that lead to 17-16, before Bradley went on a 5-1 run to take a 22-17 lead. A kill from Strakova later cut that lead to 23-20, but Bradley scored two of the last three points to tie the match and force a fifth set.
 
Kocevska hit a team-best .364 on the evening, thanks to five kills and just one error in 11 attacks. Junior Allysa Medina (Menifee, Calif.) tied the team lead with 12 digs, and Maksimovic added eight kills on offense.
 
Megne had 50 of Hampton's 56 assists in her debut with the Lady Pirates.

"Kitija was brilliant in the execution of the offense," Weatherington said, "and Sonja and Krista were both strong on defense. Allysa was integral for us in her first match at libero. Kennedy had an amazing debut with six blocks; she held her own at the net and produced some crucial points for us." 

The Lady Pirates hit .275 as a team, recording 59 kills and committing just 23 errors in 131 total attacks. Hampton also had the edge in assists (56-54), total blocks (9.0-3.0), and digs (51-46). Both teams had five aces.
 
Bradley hit .246 (58 kills, 23 errors in 142 attacks) as a team.
 
Tulacka led Bradley (0-1) with 21 kills.
 
The Lady Pirates have a quick turnaround, taking on Stony Brook at 11 a.m. EST on Saturday, before squaring off against the host Blue Demons at 8 p.m. EST to close out the tournament. 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.