Weekly Notes

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University volleyball team will be home for a pair of conference matches this weekend, taking on Coppin State in Holland Hall on Friday at 6 p.m., before squaring off against Morgan State on Sunday at 3 p.m.

The Lady Pirates (13-13, 4-3 MEAC) are looking to bounce back after a pair of three-set losses to rival Norfolk State this past weekend, while Coppin State (9-10, 4-3 MEAC) is coming off a four-set win over Bethune-Cookman and Morgan State (4-17, 3-4 MEAC) also beat Bethune-Cookman on Monday.

Hampton is third in the MEAC Northern Division, while Coppin State is fourth and Morgan State is fifth.

Over halfway through the season, the Lady Pirates have the second-best winning percentage in the MEAC. Hampton has a .500 winning percentage so far this season — second to only defending conference champion Maryland Eastern Shore (.840, 21-4).

This season, the Lady Pirates boast non-conference wins over Elon (Southern Conference), Radford (Big South), Florida Atlantic (Sun Belt), Stetson (Atlantic Sun), and McNeese State (Southland). Hampton also took Baylor, No. 49 in the RPI last season, to five sets.

Two MEAC schools have yet to win a match in 2012: Howard and Savannah State.

The Lady Pirates currently rank second in the MEAC in hitting percentage (.208), service aces (1.66 per set), and digs (12.98 per set), while sitting third in the conference overall in opponent hitting percentage (.210), assists (10.90 per set), and kills (11.93 per set).

Hampton also ranks 10th in the nation in service aces.

Sophomore rightside Vendula Strakova (Brno, Czech Republic) has six double-doubles so far this season, and she currently leads the MEAC in points with 5.32 per set and is second with 4.49 kills per set. She is also third in the MEAC in service aces (0.49 per set).

So far this season, sophomore outside hitter Krista Kraskura (Kuldiga, Latvia) is sixth in the MEAC in kills with 3.34 per set and digs with 3.02 per set, and seventh in points with 3.81 per set. She has 11 double-doubles on the season, already eclipsing the nine she had as a freshman.

Senior middle blocker Mariah Baylor (Minneapolis, Minn.) is third in the MEAC in blocks, averaging 1.04 per set. She led the team with 70 total blocks last season, and so far in 2012, Baylor has 98.0 total blocks — including a career-high 10.0 against Norfolk State on Sept. 22.

The Lady Pirates are 31-6 all-time against Coppin State, having won the last three meetings — including a four-set win earlier this season on Sept. 30 — and 10 of the last 11 meetings between the two teams.

Hampton is 3-34 all-time against Morgan State, having won the first meeting between the two teams earlier this season in straight sets on Sept. 28. Before that, the Lady Pirates had not defeated Morgan State since 2008. The Lady Bears have won six of the last seven meetings.

Head coach Pedro Gonzalez is 10-1 against Coppin State and 3-8 against Morgan State in his career.

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.