Box Score

BALTIMORE, Md. – The Hampton University volleyball team got back into the win column Friday night, beating Coppin State 3-2 (25-23, 25-14, 23-25, 18-25, 16-14) at the Physical Education Complex.

The Lady Pirates improved to 10-11 overall on the season and 5-3 in conference play to remain in a tie for second place with Morgan State in the MEAC Northern Division. Coppin State fell to 5-19 overall and 1-7 in conference play.

Hampton has reached double-digit wins in a season for the first time since 2007, when the Lady Pirates went 11-19 in head coach Pedro Gonzalez's first season. This is also the most conference matches the Lady Pirates have won since 2001, when Hampton went 8-7 in the MEAC North.

Coppin State led early in the first set, going up 7-6 before the Lady Pirates responded with four straight points to go up 10-7. Freshman Sonja Maksimovic (Belgrade, Serbia) added a kill later to put Hampton up 12-10, before sophomore Petra Parros (Bloomfield, N.J.) and senior Mianna Armstrong (Lomond, Alberta) teamed on a block to put Hampton up 14-11.

Parros and senior Juliana Chavez (Bogota, Colombia) teamed on another block to put the Lady Pirates up 17-12. Coppin State rattled off eight straight points to take a 20-17 lead, but Hampton responded to take the first set after a kill from freshman Krista Kraskura (Kuldiga, Latvia).

Junior Mariah Baylor (Minneapolis, Minn.) recorded a kill to put Hampton up 4-1 early in the second set. Coppin State clawed to within two, 12-10, before the Lady Pirates answered with 10 straight points, going up 22-10 on a Maksimovic kill – before cruising to win the set.

Coppin State led for much of the third set, but the Lady Pirates took a 21-10 lead on a Parros kill. Kraskura added a kill later to put Hampton up 23-21, just two points away from clinching the match, but Coppin State fought back to take the set 25-23.

The Lady Eagles rode that momentum into the fourth set, taking it 25-18.

That same momentum nearly took Coppin State all the way through the decisive fifth set, as the Lady Eagles were up 9-6 after four unanswered points. But the Lady Pirates kept it close, taking a 12-11 lead before the two teams traded points.

Chavez recorded a kill to put Hampton up 13-12, before Coppin State tied the set. Armstrong and Maksimovic recorded backto-back kills to finally clinch the set and the match.

Hampton hit .052 as a team, with 42 kills and 33 errors in 173 total attacks. The Lady Pirates hit a team-best .208 (10 kills, five errors in 24 attacks) in the fifth set, while also hitting .207 in the second set, thanks to nine kills and three errors in 29 attacks.

Coppin State hit just .021 as a team, recording 52 kills and 48 errors in 194 total attacks. The Lady Eagles hit a team-best .154 (13 kills, seven errors in 39 attacks) in the fourth set.

Kraskura, Armstrong and Maksimovic each had a team-high eight kills for the Lady Pirates, while Parros added seven kills. Chavez had 33 of Hampton's 37 assists, while sophomore Sheileen Pagan (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico) led five Lady Pirates in double digits in digs on defense with 21.

Armstrong added 18 digs, while Kraskura recorded 13 on defense.  Maksimovic and Chavez each added 10 digs.

Ariel Richard and Christina Epps each had 15 kills for Coppin State, while Vanity Massey added 10 kills.

The Lady Pirates will return to action on Sunday, when they take on Morgan State at 2 p.m. in Holland Hall in a battle for second-place in the MEAC North. 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.