Box Score

DOVER, Del. – The Hampton University volleyball team won its second straight match on Friday, defeating Delaware State 3-1 (22-25, 25-18, 25-14, 25-23) at Memorial Hall.

With the win, the Lady Pirates (12-12, 7-4 MEAC) guarantee their first winning conference season since going 8-7 in MEAC play in 2001. Hampton has also won back-to-back matches over Delaware State, marking the first time that happened since 2005.

Hampton solidified its position in third place in the MEAC Northern Division; the top four teams in each division qualify for the 2011 MEAC Championships Nov. 18-20 at Coppin State University in Baltimore, Md.

Junior Mariah Baylor (Minneapolis, Minn.) recorded a kill to tie the first set at 3-3, before the lady Hornets went on a 7-1 run to take a 10-4 lead. Hampton responded with a 9-4 run to close within 14-13, before Delaware State pulled away again.

Freshman Sonja Maksimovic (Belgrade, Serbia) recorded a kill to bring Hampton to within 22-20, but Delaware State took the first set 25-22.

The second set saw eight ties, including a 12-12 stalemate after a Maksimovic kill, before the Lady Pirates scored three straight – taking a 15-12 lead on a kill from sophomore Petra Parros (Bloomfield, N.J.).

The Lady Hornets would pull within one, 15-14, before Hampton closed the set on a 10-4 run to tie the match at 1-1.

Delaware State opened the third set by taking a 3-1 lead, but the Lady Pirates went up 8-4, capping a 7-1 run with a kill from senior Mianna Armstrong (Lomond, Alberta). Hampton's lead ballooned to 12-6 after a kill from junior Ornela Cadavid (Cali, Colombia).

A late kill from freshman Krista Kraskura (Kuldiga, Latvia) put the Lady Pirates up 21-12, as Hampton cruised to take the third set 25-14 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Kraskura recorded a kill early in the fourth set to put Hampton up 4-1, and later gave the Lady Pirates a 9-5 lead with another kill. Delaware State rebounded to take an 11-10 lead after going on a 6-1 run. After three ties, Hampton went up 19-16 after another Kraskura kill.

Kraksura had yet another kill to put Hampton up 21-18, before Delaware State scored four straight points to take a 22-21 lead. But the Lady Pirates scored three straight in response, forcing match point after Kraskura and Parros teamed on a block.

Delaware State pulled within one, but Maksimovic recorded her final kill of the night to clinch the match.

The Lady Pirates hit a season-high .386, thanks to 63 kills and just 14 errors in 127 total attacks. Hampton hit a team-best .500 in both the second and third sets; in the second set, the Lady Pirates had 17 kills and two errors in 30 attacks, while they recorded 16 kills and just one error in 30 attacks in the third set.

Hampton also held a 7-4 edge in service aces.

Delaware State (4-20, 3-8 MEAC) hit .264 as a team, recording 45 kills and 16 errors in 110 total attacks. The Lady Hornets hit a team-best .435 (12 kills, two errors in 23 attacks) in the second set, while also hitting .394 (16 kills, three errors in 33 attacks) in the first set.

Kraskura led the Lady Pirates with 21 kills, while Armstrong added 17 and Maksimovic recorded 10 kills. Parros hit a team-best .545 with six kills and no errors in 11 total attacks. Kraskura hit .444 for the match, while Armstrong, who fell one dig shy of her eighth double-double of the season, hit .351.

Senior Lihi Elkayam (Misgav, Israel) recorded a season-high 52 assists for the Lady Pirates, just three shy of her career high, while sophomore Sheileen Pagan (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico) had a team-high 11 digs on defense.

Pagan and Maksimovic each had a team-high two service aces.

Theresa Schieder led Delaware State with 15 kills.

The Lady Pirates will close out the regular season on Sunday, when they head to Princess Anne, Md. to take on Maryland Eastern Shore at the W.P. Hytche Athletic Center at 3 p.m. 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.