Box Score

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Hampton University volleyball team put in a gutty effort on Sunday, defeating Florida Atlantic 3-2 (25-18, 18-25, 25-21, 18-25, 15-12) on the final day of the Holiday Inn Resort/Bethune-Cookman Invitational at the Moore Gymnasium.

Junior Ornela Cadavid (Cali, Colombia) was named to the All-Tournament Team after recording 38 kills and totaling 12 blocks for the weekend. She also hit a team-best .219 over the weekend's four matches, tallying just 17 errors in 96 total attacks.

Hampton (3-7) took a 5-2 lead to open the first set after freshman Sonja Maksimovic (Belgrade, Serbia) recorded her first kill of the match, before FAU bounced back to tie the set at 9-9. Hampton never relinquished the lead in the set after that, growing the lead to 16-11 after Cadavid recorded a kill before eventually taking the set 25-18.

The Owls (2-9) rebounded by opening the second set with a 5-1 lead. Hampton closed to within 13-10 later in the set after another Maksimovic kill, but FAU went on an 8-2 run to extend its lead to 21-12.

Junior Mariah Baylor (Minneapolis, Minn.) recorded a kill early in the third set to give the Lady Pirates a 4-3 lead – a lead they would not relinquish in the set. That kicked off a 10-2 Hampton run that expanded the Lady Pirates' lead to 14-5 after Baylor recorded a service ace.

FAU closed to within 23-20, but Cadavid slammed home another kill to bring about set point, and freshman Marija Kocevska (SkopjeKarpos, Macedonia) clinched the set 25-21 with a service ace.

There were six lead changes in the fourth set alone, ending with an 8-8 gridlock after a kill from freshman Krista Kraskura (Kuldiga, Latvia). But the Owls answered with a 10-1 run to take an 18-9 lead to establish control and eventually win the set 25-18.

FAU took a 3-2 lead to open the fifth set, which led to a series of rallies in which both teams exchanged points; in that span, there were three lead changes and six ties. The Owls had an 8-7 lead, but an error evened up the score at 8-8 after the change-over.

Baylor then recorded back-to-back kills, before Kraskura slammed home an ace to give the Lady Pirates an 11-8 lead. FAU would close to within 11-10, but three straight Hampton points – including a kill from Cadavid and another from senior Mianna Armstrong (Lomond, Alberta) – forced match point at 14-10.

After the Owls scored twice, Cadavid slammed home a kill to clinch the match.

Hampton hit .106 as a team, recording 51 kills and 31 errors in 189 attacks. The Lady Pirates hit a team-best .200 in the third set (13 kills, five errors in 40 attacks). Hampton and FAU each had seven service aces, but the Lady Pirates only had one service error to 13 for the Owls.

FAU hit .184 as a team, with 60 kills and 25 errors in 190 attacks. Their best set was the second, in which FAU hit .333 (18 kills, two errors in 48 attacks).

Cadavid led the Lady Pirates with 13 kills, seven of which came in the first set, accounting for 17.0 points and hitting .179 with just six errors in 39 attacks. Baylor and Kraskura each had eight kills, and Baylor hit a team-best .238 after only committing three errors in 21 attacks.

Cadavid also had three solo blocks and two block assists.

Senior Lihi Elkayam (Misgav, Israel) had her second double-double of the season with a season-high 39 assists and a career-high 26 digs on defense.

Sophomore Sheileen Pagan (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico) had 19 digs on defense, while Armstrong added 14 digs and Maksimovic had 10 digs to go along with six kills.

Georgia Robinson and Alessia Pizzocheri led the Owls with 12 kills apiece, while Chandler Hatton had 10 kills.

The Lady Pirates will return to action on Wednesday, Sept. 28, when they cross the James River to open conference play against Norfolk State at Echols Hall at 6 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.