Box Score

DURHAM, N.C. – The Hampton University volleyball team lost its first match of the season on Friday, as Elon defeated the Lady Pirates 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-9) during the RTP Hilton/North Carolina Central Tournament at the McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium.

Elon jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the first set, before the Lady Pirates answered with a 7-3 run to cut the lead to 8-7. There were six ties in the first set before Hampton took its first lead, 21-20 on a kill by sophomore Ioana Kalfinova (Sofia, Bulgaria).

Elon tied the match again on the following serve, but a Phoenix service error gave the Lady Pirates a 22-21 lead. The score was tied two more times, before Traci Stewart recorded a kill to give Elon the 25-23 win in the first set.

Hampton responded by jumping out to a 5-2 lead, thanks in part to aces from senior Lihi Elkayam (Misgav, Israel) and sophomore Sheileen Pagan (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico), before Elon answered with a 10-2 run to take a 12-7 lead. The Lady Pirates battled back to cut Elon's lead to 16-14, before the Phoenix closed the set with a 9-2 run.

Elon jumped to a 6-1 lead to open the third set, before holding the Lady Pirates at bay.

The Lady Pirates (0-1) hit .152 as a team (27 kills, 15 errors in 79 total attacks. They opened the match by hitting .371 as a team in the first set, recording 16 kills and just t here errors in 35 attacks.

Elon (1-0) hit .430 as a team, with 39 kills and just five errors in 79 attacks. The Phoenix had a .667 hitting percentage (13 kills, one error in 18 attacks) in the third set, to go along with a .438 hitting percentage (14 kills, no errors in 32 attacks) in the first set.

Elon also held an 8-5 edge in service aces.

Pagan led the Lady Pirates with eight kills, while also hitting a team-best .200 – along with senior Mianna Armstrong (Lomond, Alberta), who had two kills and no errors in 10 attacks.

Elkayam had 14 of Hampton's 22 assists and two service aces, tied for the team lead with Pagan.

Kalfinova had a team-high seven digs on defense.

Carly Ledbetter led Elon with nine kills, while Megan McMahon had 28 assists.

The Lady Pirates will return to action on Saturday, when they square off against Campbell at McDougald-McLendon Gymnaisum at 11 a.m. in the second day of tournament play. Hampton will then take on tournament host NCCU at 7 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.