Updated Weekly Notes

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University volleyball team will return to Holland Hall on Friday, as the road team, to take on the Lady Bison of Howard University at 6 p.m.

The match was originally scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C., but renovations to Burr Gymnasium re-located the match to Holland Hall. For statistical purposes, the Lady Pirates will still be considered the road team.

The Lady Pirates (7-8, 2-0 MEAC) have won five of their last six matches after defeating Coppin State in four sets on Tuesday night in their home opener. The win gave Hampton sole possession of first-place in the MEAC Northern Division, with Maryland Eastern Shore and Morgan State each sitting at 1-0 in conference play coming into the weekend.

Freshman Krista Kraskura (Kuldiga, Latvia) recorded her fifth double-double of the season – and her third straight – with a team-high 14 kills and 10 digs on defense. Senior Mianna Armstrong (Lomond, Alberta) added 10 kills in that match, committing no errors in 18 attacks to hit a team-best .556.

Hampton hit a season-best .233 against Coppin State and held a 12-8 edge in service aces, while the Lady Pirates allowed a season-low .080 hitting percentage from Coppin State – marking the first time this season Hampton has held an opponent under .100.

Senior setter 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 277 assists in 44 sets played so far this season, an average of 6.30 per set (ninth-best in the MEAC) and giving her 2,533 assists for her career.

Elkayam, who is sixth in the MEAC in conference play in assists, is only 28 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 334 career sets played heading into this week's action.

Sophomore Sheileen Pagan (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico), who has 51 digs in two conference matches so far this season, is second in the MEAC in conference play with 6.38 digs per set. Junior Mariah Baylor (Minneapolis, Minn.) is third in the MEAC in conference play in blocks, totaling 11.0 for an average of 1.39 per set.

Kraskura sits tied for fifth in the conference in kills in MEAC play, averaging 3.75 kills in eight conference sets played. She is also fifth in the MEAC in digs in conference play, totaling 28 in eight sets for an average of 3.50 per set.

Kraskura is also sixth in the MEAC in points in conference play, averaging 4.31 points per set.

Howard (1-16, 0-1 MEAC) has lost eight straight matches following a five-set loss to Delaware State on Friday, Sept. 30. The Lady Bison last won on Sept. 9, a four-set victory over Princeton. Senior Tosin Elebute leads Howard with 217 kills, 3.62 per set, so far this season, to go along with a team-high 16 service aces.

Sophomore Riana Cain has a team-high 181 digs on defense, 3.18 per set, while freshman Stephanie Shultis has 253 assists on the season, an average of 4.22 per set.

Hampton is 14-28 all-time against Howard, but the Lady Pirates have won four straight over the Lady Bison, including both of last season's matches – a five-set win at Burr Gymnasium on Oct. 17 and a four-set win in Holland Hall on Nov. 5.

Head coach Pedro Gonzalez is 4-4 against Howard.

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.