Opponent Websites: UMES | Howard

PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – The Hampton University volleyball team will take to the road to continue Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play this weekend, with matches on Friday and Sunday.

The Lady Pirates (5-17, 1-1 MEAC) will take on Maryland Eastern Shore on Friday at 6 p.m. in the William P. Hytche Athletic Center, before heading to Burr Gymnasium on Sunday for a 3 p.m. match against Howard.

Hampton is 26-21 all-time against UMES, though the Lady Hawks have won the last 10 meetings – including two earlier this season. UMES defeated Hampton 3-0 on Aug. 28, before taking a 3-1 win on Sept. 24.

The Lady Pirates last beat UMES in 2005.

Howard leads the all-time series 28-12 against Hampton, though the Lady Pirates won both of last season's meetings. Prior to last season, the Bison had won six straight matches against Hampton.

Following a weekend split with Delaware State and Coppin State – the Lady Hornets beat the Lady Pirates 3-1 (25-16, 27-29, 25-12, 25-18) on Friday, before Hampton bounced back on Sunday with a 3-0 (25-11, 25-20, 25-17) win over Coppin State – the Lady Pirates have won five of their last eight matches.

Entering the weekend, Hampton is in a four-way tie for second in the MEAC Northern Division at 1-1 along with Delaware State, Morgan State and Howard. UMES leads the division with a 2-0 conference mark.

Senior Aaryn Harrison (Cary, N.C.) leads the Lady Pirates with 184 kills on the season, averaging 2.67 per set. She is 18 kills shy of reaching 1,000 for her career, which would make her just the fourth player in program history to reach that milestone.

Junior Lina Cordoba (Bogota, Colombia) leads the team with a .250 hitting percentage, thanks to 66 kills and just 26 errors in 160 attacks. Senior Ivana Suput (Zitiste, Serbia) leads the team with 14 service aces, while freshman Sheileen Pagan (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico), this week's HU Athlete of the Week, has 13.

Harrison, who is fourth in the MEAC in points with 220.0 (3.19 per set), has 11 service aces so far this season, while junior Juliana Chavez (Bogota, Colombia) and junior Mianna Armstrong (Lomond, Alberta) each have 10.

Pagan has 122 kills so far this season, averaging 1.88 per set.

Junior Lihi Elkayam (Misgav, Israel) leads the team and sits seventh in the MEAC with 393 assists so far this season, averaging 7.02 per set, while Chavez has 153 assists – an average of 5.10 per set.

Suput leads the Lady Pirates with 164 digs on defense, averaging 3.35 per set, while Pagan is averaging 1.95 digs per set, totaling 127 on the season. Harrison is third on the team in digs with 87, averaging 1.26 per set.

The Lady Pirates are fourth in the MEAC in opponents' hitting percentage, only allowing teams to hit .219 (856 kills, 373 errors in 2,206 attacks) against them.

UMES (13-9, 2-0 MEAC) has won seven straight matches, including sweeps over Morgan State and Delaware State this past weekend. Junior Zoe Bowens leads three Lady Hawks with at least 200 kills on the season, recording 256 for a team-high 3.12 per set. Freshman Maline Vaitai has 249 kills so far – 3.04 per set – while freshman Kaveinga Lea'Aetoa has 202.

Bowens also has a team- and MEAC-high 44 service aces.

Five Lady Hawks have at least 100 digs on defense, led by junior Rebecca Prado's 181 – an average of 2.21 per set. Sophomore Stephanie Sierra has 163 digs on the season, 2.01 per set.

Howard (4-15, 1-1 MEAC) has lost three of its last four matches, beating Coppin State 3-1 this past weekend before falling to Morgan State in five sets. The Bison are led by junior Tosin Elebute, who has 218 kills on the season for a MEAC-best average of 3.30 per set.

Junior Jiyana Brown has a team-high 18 service aces.

Three Bison have at least 100 digs on defense, led by 166 from senior Nicole Brown. Elebute has 115, while Brown has 107.

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.