Tournament Notes

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Hampton University volleyball team will compete in the 2011 Holiday Inn Resort/Bethune-Cookman Invitational this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Moore Gymnasium on the campus of Bethune-Cookman University.

The Lady Pirates (1-5) will open play on Friday with a 12:30 p.m. match against Stetson, before facing Samford at 2 p.m. and tournament host Bethune-Cookman at 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Hampton will also take on Florida Atlantic on Sunday at 11 a.m.

The Lady Pirates last competed in the Northern Arizona University Fiesta Bowl on Sept. 2-3 in the Rolle Activity Center in Flagstaff, Ariz. Hampton fell in straight sets to New Mexico before falling in straight sets to both Northern Arizona and San Jose State.

Junior Mariah Baylor (Minneapolis, Minn.) was named to the All-Tournament Team after recording eight kills along with 5.0 blocks and hitting .185 for the weekend. She had four kills and just one error in 12 attacks against San Jose State.

Freshman middle blocker Marija Kocevska (SkopjeKarpos, Macedonia) began to show flashes of her talent at the Northern Arizona Fiesta Bowl, totaling five kills and four digs in five sets played. Kocevska recorded two kills against tournament host NAU — the first two of her career — to go along with two digs, before adding a career-high three kills and two digs against San Jose State.

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 totaled 65 assists in three matches at the Hilton RTP/NCCU Tournament in Durham, N.C., before adding 24 assists in the Northern Arizona Fiesta Bowl to give her 2,345 assists for her career and placing her second in school history.

Elkayam is only 216 assists shy of tying Gonzalez, and she is third all-time in program history in assists per set, averaging 7.60 assists per set in 309 career sets played heading into this weekend's action.

The Lady Pirates are 7-6 all-time against Bethune-Cookman, though the Wildcats have won four of the last five meetings between the two teams. The teams last met on Oct. 14, 2006, when Bethune-Cookman came away with a 3-1 win.

Hampton has never faced Stetson, Samford or Florida Atlantic.

Information about the Holiday Inn Resort/Bethune-Cookman Invitational, including rosters, tournament schedule, stats and links for live stats, are available on Bethune-Cookman's official website; click here to view.

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.