Box Score

DURHAM, N.C. – The Hampton University volleyball team fell in straight sets to North Carolina Central at McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium, as the Lady Eagles won on Sunday 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-19).

It was Hampton's first loss in its last six matches against NCCU.

The Lady Eagles opened the first set with a 6-1 run, before sophomore Krista Kraskura (Kuldiga, Latvia) stopped the run with a service ace. The Lady Pirates (1-3) closed to within 8-5 after a 4-2 spurt, but NCCU responded by scoring nine unanswered points to take a 17-5 lead.

Hampton could get no closer than within eight the rest of the set, closing to within 24-16 after a kill from Kraskura, but the Lady Eagles still closed out the first set to establish command.

The second set started with the teams exchanging points, before the Lady Pirates went up 7-5 on a kill from sophomore Marija Kocevska (SkopjeKarpos, Macedonia). NCCU took an 8-7 lead two points later, before the teams once again exchanged points.

The Lady Pirates took a 16-14 lead, before NCCU scored four straight to take a 17-16 lead. A service ace from freshman Allysa Medina (Menifee, Calif.) gave the Lady Pirates an 18-17 lead, and after NCCU tied the set at 18-18, junior Ioana Kalfinova (Sofia, Bulgaria) put Hampton up 19-18 with a kill.

NCCU tied the set at 21-21, but the Lady Pirates went up 22-21 on another Kalfinova kill. The Lady Eagles (1-4) scored three straight points to take a 24-22 lead, before ultimately winning the set.

The Lady Pirates hit a team-best .357 (13 kills, three errors in 28 attacks) in the second set, while NCCU hit .375 (16 kills, four errors in 32 attacks).

Hampton opened the third set with a 3-1 lead, before NCCU battled back to take a 5-4 lead. Kocevska tied the set at 5-5 with a kill, before the Lady Eagles grabbed the lead again. After the set tied at 7-7, NCCU went on a 7-2 run to take a 14-9 lead.

When NCCU took a 22-15 lead, the Lady Pirates answered with three straight points to close to within 22-18, but NNCU closed out the set with a 3-1 spurt to clinch its first win of the season.

Hampton hit .273 (nine kills, three errors in 22 attacks) in the third set, while the Lady Eagles hit a match-best .387 (16 kills, four errors in 31 attacks).

For the match, the Lady Pirates hit just .211 (30 kills, 14 errors in 76 attacks), while NCCU hit .352 as a team, with 44 kills and 13 errors in 88 total attacks. The Lady Eagles also held a 7-4 edge in service aces.

Kalfinova led the Lady Pirates with 10 kills in the match, while also hitting.474 thanks to just one error in 19 attacks. Senior Mariah Baylor (Minneapolis, Minn.) had five kills, hitting .444 with just one error in nine attacks.

Kocevska hit .500 with five kills and one error in eight attacks.

Sophomore Sonja Maksimovic (Belgrade, Serbia) had 22 of Hampton's 28 assists, while sophomore Zakiya Moore (Inglewood, Calif.) had a team-high six digs.

The Lady Pirates will return to action on Tuesday, when they take on Radford at 2 p.m. in Holland Hall in their 2012 home opener. 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.