HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University volleyball team swept rival Howard 3-0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-19) in Holland Hall on Friday evening, remaining undefeated in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play.

The Lady Pirates (12-10, 3-0 MEAC) have won four straight matches and five of their last six. Hampton has also won eight straight matches against Howard.

Hampton jumped out to a 9-1 lead in the first set, taking advantage of several Lady Bison errors before sophomore Sonja Maksimovic (Belgrade, Serbia) recorded a kill to give the Lady Pirates the 9-1 advantage.

The Lady Pirates then went up 12-3 on a Howard error, before sophomore Vendula Strakova (Brno, Czech Republic) slammed a service ace to put Hampton up 15-5.

Maksimovic later added an ace of her own to give Hampton an 18-8 lead.

Hampton hit a match-best .364 in the first set, recording 10 kills and just two errors in 22 total attacks.

Things were much the same in the second set, as the Lady Pirates led 9-3 after a kill from Strakova. After Howard (0-14, 0-3 MEAC) closed to within 13-8, the Lady Pirates scored seven straight points, going up 20-8 after sophomore Krista Kraskura (Kuldiga, Latvia) and senior Mariah Baylor (Minneapolis, Minn.) teamed on a block.

Kraskura added another kill later to make the lead 24-11 and force set point, before Howard answered with three straight points. A Lady Bison error on the next rally, though, gave the Lady Pirates the set 25-14 and a 2-0 lead in the match.

Howard was relegated to negative hitting in the second set, recording just eight kills and 10 errors in 31 attacks to hit -.065.

The Lady Bison started the third set on a 6-2 run, before the Lady Pirates answered with six straight points to take an 8-6 lead after another service ace from Strakova. Howard went on a 4-0 run to take a 10-8 lead, then went up 11-10 after Hampton tied the set.

Junior Ioana Kalfinova (Sofia, Bulgaria) gave Hampton a 13-11 lead with a kill, and the Lady Pirates never looked back. Howard fought back to tie the set at 18-18, but the Lady Pirates responded with a 6-0 run, going up 24-18 and forcing match point after another Howard error.

Yet another Howard error ended the match.

The Lady Bison hit -.120 in the third set, committing eight errors and recording just five kills in 25 attacks. Howard hit -.054 for the match, the first opponent the Lady Pirates have held to a negative hitting percentage this season.

Strakova led Hampton with seven kills, while Kraskura and Kalfinova each added five kills. Kalfinova was error-free in 10 attacks, hitting a team-best .500. The Lady Pirates hit .178, recording 26 kills and 13 errors in 73 attacks.

Junior Bibiany Fonseca (Uberlandia, Brazil) had 18 of the Lady Pirates' 23 assists and a team-high three service aces. Strakova added two aces.

Hampton held a 7-6 edge in service aces.

Strakova also added a team-high 11 digs on defense. Junior Sheileen Pagan (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico), in her first match of the season, added seven digs.

Assata Conway led Howard with six kills.

The Lady Pirates will return to action on Friday, Oct. 12, when they travel to Princess Anne, Md. to take on Maryland Eastern Shore in what could be a battle for first place in the MEAC Northern Division. 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.