Weekly Notes

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University volleyball team will make its home debut on Tuesday, when the Lady Pirates take on Coppin State at Holland Hall at 6 p.m.

The Lady Pirates (6-8, 1-0 MEAC) have won four of their last five matches, including a 2-1 effort this past weekend in the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawk Invitational in Princess Anne, Md. Freshman Krista Kraskura (Kuldiga, Latvia) was named to the All-Tournament Team after recording two double-doubles and hitting .326 for the tournament.

Kraskura, who is second in the MEAC in conference play in kills and third in digs, also had 16 kills and 18 digs on Wednesday in Hampton's conference win at Norfolk State.

Freshman Sonja Maksimovic (Belgrade, Serbia) was named MEAC Rookie of the Week after totaling 22 kills and 15 digs in three matches this past weekend in the Hawk Invitational, including a career-high 10 kills in a three-set win over North Carolina Central on Friday. She hit .643 in that match, committing just one error in 14 attacks.

She added eight kills against Alabama State on Saturday, while recording four kills and seven digs on defense in a four-set loss to Cal State Bakersfield.

Senior Lihi Elkayam (Misgav, Israel) is closing in on Hampton's all-time record for career assists, currently held by Brenda Gonzalez (1998-2001). Elkayam has 262 assists in 42 sets played so far this season, an average of 6.24 per set (ninth-best in the MEAC) and giving her 2,518 assists for her career.

Elkayam, who is fourth in the MEAC in conference play with 9.00 assists per set, is only 43 assists shy of tying Gonzalez, and she is third all-time in program history in assists per set, averaging 7.58 assists per set in 332 career sets played heading into this week's action.

Coppin State (3-14, 0-2 MEAC) has lost six straight matches following a 3-0 loss to Norfolk State on Friday. Ariel Richard leads the Lady Eagles with 173 kills so far this season, 2.84 per set, to go along with a team-high 129 digs on defense.

Sophomore Petra Parros (Bloomfield, N.J.) is leading the MEAC in blocks in conference play, following seven blocks at Norfolk State on Wednesday. She's averaging 2.33 blocks per set in MEAC play.

Sophomore Sheileen Pagan (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico) is leading the MEAC in digs on defense in conference play, averaging 7.50 per set after recording 30 digs in Hampton's four-set win at Norfolk State on Wednesday.

Hampton is 28-6 all-time against Coppin State, having won seven of the last eight meetings between the two schools. Coppin State defeated the Lady Pirates once in four sets last season, marking the first time Coppin State had defeated Hampton since 2006.

Tuesday's match marks the beginning of a stretch of four straight matches in Holland Hall for the Lady Pirates; Hampton will take on Howard in Holland Hall on Friday, since the Lady Bison's gym is being renovated. The Lady Pirates will still be considered the road team for statistical purposes.

The Lady Pirates' 6-8 start to the 2011 season is the team's best heading into October since 2007, when Hampton was 9-10 head into Oct. 1 in head coach Pedro Gonzalez's first season. The lady Pirates were also 5-11 heading into Oct. 1 in 2009.

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.