Box Score

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The Hampton University volleyball team defeated Howard 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-18) on Friday in the first day of the William & Mary Colonial Challenge at Kaplan Arena.

It was Hampton's first three-set win of the season, and the Lady Pirates (7-7) have now won seven straight meetings against the Lady Bison. The Lady Pirates have also won five of their last seven matches.

Hampton jumped out to a 4-0 lead to open the first set, immediately establishing control. Sophomore Vendula Strakova (Brno, Czech Republic) recorded her first kill of the match to put the Lady Pirates up 6-3, before sophomore Sonja Maksimovic (Belgrade, Serbia) added a kill of her own later in the set to put Hampton up 10-5.

Senior Mariah Baylor (Minneapolis, Minn.) added a kill to put Hampton up 16-7, and later in the set, sophomore Krista Kraskura (Kuldiga, Latvia) recorded a service ace and a kill to give the Lady Pirates a 19-11 lead.

Freshman Samantha Sours (Yorktown, Va.) clinched the set with a service ace.

Hampton hit .321 in the first set, recording 21 kills and just three errors in 28 total attacks. The Lady Bison were held to a mere .088 hitting percentage, recording seven errors in 34 attacks.

Strakova recorded a kill to put Hampton up 3-1 early in the second set, before Howard battled back and eventually tied the set at 7-7. The Lady Pirates bounced back with five unanswered points, going up 12-7, before the run grew to 8-1 and Hampton went up 15-8.

Kraskura gave Hampton a 20-11 lead with a service ace, then later added a kill to put the Lady Pirates up 21-13. Strakova clinched the second set with a service ace.

Hampton hit .206 in the second set, with 13 kills and six errors in 34 attacks.

The Lady Pirates hit a staggering .600 in the third set, recording 16 kills and just one error in 25 attacks. Strakova gave Hampton a 3-1 lead with a kill, but Howard stormed back to take a 6-5 lead. Hampton later led 8-7, before Hampton went on a 4-1 lead to go up 12-9.

Baylor recorded a service ace to put Hampton up 18-11, before Kraskura put the Lady Pirates up 22-13 with a kill. The Lady Bison fought back, cutting Hampton's lead to 23-18, before Hampton righted the ship after a timeout and scored the last two points.

Junior Bibiany Fonseca (Uberlandia, Brazil) clinched the win with a service ace.

Hampton hit .356 for the match, recording 41 kills and just 10 errors in 87 total attacks. The Lady Pirates also held a 9-5 edge over Howard (0-9) in service aces.

Howard had 4.0 blocks to Hampton's 1.0.

Strakova, the reigning MEAC Player of the Week, led the Lady Pirates with 12 kills and nine digs on defense, while hitting .267 and recording two service aces. Kraskura added 10 kills and hit .421 for the match, while Fonscea had a team-high three service aces and 32 of Hampton's 38 assists.

Baylor hit a team-best .600, recording six kills and going error-free in 10 attacks. Maksimovic added eight kills and seven digs for Hampton.

Meagan Lagerlef led Howard with seven kills.

The Lady Pirates will return to action on Saturday, when they take on Elon at 12 p.m. and host William & Mary at 7 p.m. at Kaplan Arena in the final day of the Colonial Challenge. For more information on Hampton University volleyball, call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.