PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – The Hampton University volleyball team dropped its first conference match of the season on Friday at the W.P. Hytche Athletic Center, as Maryland Eastern Shore took a 3-1 (27-25, 25-15, 25-27, 25-16) win.

The Lady Pirates (12-11, 3-1 MEAC) had their four-match winning streak snapped, and they have now lost 16 straight meetings against UMES. The Lady Hawks extended their NCAA Division I-best home winning streak to 26 matches.

After UMES took a 7-6 lead in the first set, Hampton scored four of the next five points to go up 10-8 after a kill from sophomore Krista Kraskura (Kuldiga, Latvia)  UMES battled back to tie the set at 13-13, before sophomore Sonja Maksimovic (Belgrade, Serbia) recorded a kill to give Hampton a 14-13 lead.

A block from senior Mariah Baylor (Minneapolis, Minn.) and junior Bibiany Fonseca (Uberlandia, Brazil) later in the set put the Lady Pirates up 18-16, and sophomore Vendula Strakova (Brno, Czech Republic) later added a kill to give Hampton a 20-18 lead.

Strakova then gave Hampton a 22-20 lead with another kill, before the Lady Hawks scored three straight points to go up 23-22. Hampton briefly held a 24-23 lead, but the score was tied twice more before UMES scored the last two points to take the first set.

UMES hit a match-best .455 (11 kills, one error in 22 attacks) in the second set, seizing control and jumping out to a 7-3 lead. Hampton closed to within 9-7 after a kill from Fonseca, and Strakova later trimmed the lead to 11-9 with a kill of her own.

The Lady Hawks never lost control in the second set, though, cruising to a 25-15 win.

UMES jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the third set, before the Lady Pirates stormed back and took an 8-6 lead after another Fonseca kill. Kraskura later added a kill to put Hampton up 11-8, before Fonseca and Baylor teamed on a block to give the Lady Pirates a 13-10 edge.

UMES fought back to tie the set at 13-13, and there were six ties before junior Petra Parros (Bloomfield, N.J.) put the Lady Pirates up 19-18 with a kill. Hampton then went up 21-18 following kills from Strakova and Kraskura.

Parros put Hampton up 23-20 with another kill, but the Lady Hawks scored four straight points to take a 24-23 lead and force match point. Parros tied the set with a kill on the next rally, and Kraskura registered two of Hampton's last three points to take the third set and avoid the sweep.

The Lady Hawks established control again in the fourth set, though, jumping out to a 4-2 lead. Maksimovic later closed the gap to 8-7 with a kill, but UMES answered with five straight points to take a 13-7 lead.

Kraskura cut the lead to 14-10 with a kill, but UMES answered by rushing out to a 20-11 lead and taking control for good.

UMES (18-4, 4-0 MEAC) hit .331 for the match, recording 57 kills and just 14 errors in 130 attacks. The Lady Hawks also had 16 service aces, compared to four for Hampton.

The Lady Pirates hit .250 as a team, with 47 kills and 16 errors in 124 attacks.

Strakova led the Lady Pirates with 17 kills, while Kraskura added 14 kills and hit .300 for the match (just five errors in 30 attacks). Strakova and Kraskura also had six digs each on defense, and Strakova had two service aces.

Fonseca had 41 of Hampton's 43 assists, while junior Sheileen Pagan (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico) had a team-high 16 digs.

The Lady Pirates will return to action on Sunday, when they head to Dover, Del. to take on Delaware State at Memorial Hall 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.