Weekly Notes

LAKE CHARLES, La. – The Hampton University volleyball team will compete in the Big Daddy's Invitational hosted by McNeese State University on Friday and Saturday at the Memorial Gym.

The Lady Pirates (4-5) will begin action on Friday at 9 a.m. against Bethune-Cookman, before taking on Arkansas State later that day at 4:30 p.m. On Saturday, Hampton will square off against tournament host McNeese State at 11:30 a.m., before taking on Baylor at 4:30 p.m.

Hampton has won two straight matches and three of its last five after going 3-2 last week. The Lady Pirates defeated Radford in four sets on Aug. 28 in Holland Hall, before going to DeLand, Fla. and splitting four matches in the Stetson Clarion Classic.

Junior setter Bibiany Fonseca (Uberlandia, Brazil) and sophomore outside hitter Sonja Maksimovic (Belgrade, Serbia) were each named to the All-Tournament Team. Fonseca averaged 8.69 assists per set in four matches. Against Wofford, Fonseca had 36 assists and nine digs on defense to go along with three service aces.

Her best match, however, came in a five-set win over Florida Atlantic on Saturday, when she had 38 assists, nine kills, a .538 hitting percentage, and a career-high five service aces. In a four-set win over host Stetson, she had 45 assists and 10 digs.

Fonseca is currently third in the MEAC in assists with 8.80 per set.

Maksimovic had two double-doubles over the weekend, recording a career-high 18 kills and 14 digs against Wofford, before adding 14 kills and 11 digs against Florida Atlantic. She also had 14 kills and nine digs at Stetson.

Sophomore outside hitter Krista Kraskura (Kuldiga, Latvia) had three double-doubles last week, including 21 kills and 17 digs in a four-set win over Radford, hitting .370. She added 11 kills and 11 digs against Florida Atlantic and 17 kills and 15 digs against Stetson.

So far this season, Kraskura is second in the MEAC in kills with 3.74 per set and ninth in digs with 3.31 per set. She has six double-doubles so far on the young season; she had nine in all of 2011.

After two weeks of non-conference competition, the Lady Pirates have the second-best winning percentage in the MEAC. With a 4-5 mark, Hampton has a .444 winning percentage — second to only defending conference champion Maryland Eastern Shore (.857, 6-1).

So far this season, the Lady Pirates boast non-conference wins over Elon (Southern Conference), Radford (Big South), Florida Atlantic (Sun Belt), and Stetson (Atlantic Sun).

There are five MEAC schools which have yet to win a match so far this season: Morgan State, Howard, Florida A&M, Savannah State, Bethune-Cookman, and North Carolina A&T.

Hampton is 7-7 all-time against Bethune-Cookman, including a five-set loss in Daytona Beach, Fla. last season during the Holiday Inn/Bethune-Cookman Invitational. The Wildcats have won five of the last six meetings between the two teams, with Hampton's last win coming on Oct. 15, 2005, when the Lady Pirates won in four sets on a neutral court.

Head coach Pedro Gonzalez is 0-1 against Bethune-Cookman.

The Lady Pirates have never faced Arkansas State, McNeese State, or Baylor.

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.