Box Score

NORFOLK, Va. – The Hampton University volleyball team won its first match of the Norfolk State Spartan Invitational on Friday at Echols Hall, defeating South Carolina State 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-12).

The Lady Pirates (8-9) have won two straight match-ups against the Lady Bulldogs.

South Carolina State (2-6) jumped out to a 5-2 lead to open the first set, before sophomore Krista Kraskura (Kuldiga, Latvia) later recorded a kill to tie the set at 9-9. The Lady Bulldogs regained the lead, but the Lady Pirates again tied the score at 13-13 after a kill from junior Ioana Kalfinova (Sofia, Bulgaria).

Sophomore Vendula Strakova (Brno, Czech Republic) followed that with a service ace to put Hampton up 14-13, before sophomore Marija Kocevska (SkopjeKarpos, Macedonia) added a kill to give the Lady Pirates a 15-13 lead.

Later in the set, Hampton went up 20-17 on a Strakova kill, and she later added another kill to put Hampton up 23-21. But South Carolina State answered with four straight points to steal the first set 25-23.

The Lady Bulldogs led the second set 8-5, before the Lady Pirates went on a 7-1 run to take a 12-9 lead after a kill from Kocevska. Strakova added a kill to expand the lead to 14-10, and the Lady Pirates later led 18-15 after a block from Strakova and Kocevska.

Kalfinova gave Hampton a 20-15 lead, before Strakova later added a kill to put the Lady Pirates up 22-17. South Carolina State battled back once the Lady Pirates were in set point, but Strakova tied the match with a kill to give Hampton the 25-21 win.

South Carolina State jumped out to a 6-2 lead to open the third set, setting the tempo and immediately taking control. That lead eventually grew to 16-8, before the Hampton comeback started with a Kalfinova kill to cut the lead to 16-9.

After Strakova and senior Mariah Baylor (Minneapolis, Minn.) teamed on a block to cut the Lady Bulldogs' lead to 19-17, South Carolina State scored the next point to go up 20-17. The Lady Pirates then closed the set on an 8-2 run, including a string of six unanswered points that gave Hampton a 23-20 lead.

The spirited comeback netted Hampton the third set 25-22.

The Lady Pirates hit a match-best .371 in the third set, recording 17 kills and just four errors in 35 total attacks.

The momentum from the third-set comeback carried over into the fourth set, as Hampton went up 4-1 on a kill from Strakova. She added a service ace later in the set to give the Lady Pirates an 11-4 lead. Kraskura added a kill later to put Hampton up 12-6, starting a run of six straight points – a stretch that included three service aces from freshman Allysa Medina (Menifee, Calif.).

Baylor and sophomore Sonja Maksimovic (Belgrade, Serbia) later teamed on a block to put the Lady Pirates up 21-10. The Lady Pirates clinched the set, and the match, at 25-12 on a block from Baylor and Strakova.

South Carolina State was relegated to negative hitting in the fourth set at -.259.

Strakova led the Lady Pirates with 19 kills to go along with 14 digs on defense for her fourth double-double of the season. Kraskura added 12 kills, while Kalfinova added nine kills with no errors in 16 attacks to hit a team-best and career-high .562.

Maksimovic had 38 of Hampton's 45 assists. Freshman Samantha Sours (Yorktown, Va.) led the way on defense with 20 digs.

Desire Waller led South Carolina State with 23 kills.

The Lady Pirates will return to action on Saturday, taking on Texas Pan American at 11 a.m. and Norfolk State at 8 p.m. in Echols Hall. 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.