Weekly Notes

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University volleyball team will be back in action after a week off on Sunday afternoon, taking on defending conference champion Maryland Eastern Shore at 3 p.m. in Holland Hall.

This will be the first of three straight home matches for the Lady Pirates (10-8, 4-0 MEAC), who have won five of their last six matches after straight-set wins over Coppin State (Oct. 4) and Howard (Oct. 6).

UMES (2-13, 1-2 MEAC heading into Friday's action) has lost six of its last seven matches.

Through matches as of Sunday, junior rightside Vendula Strakova (Brno, Czech Republic), the reigning and four-time MEAC Player of the Week, leads the nation in points (6.63 per set) and kills (5.69 per set). She has recorded double-digit kills in every match so far this season, and she hit .615 on Sunday in a straight-set win at Howard.

Strakova is also ranked ninth in the nation in aces, averaging 0.53 per set.

Junior middle blocker Marija Kocevska (SkopjeKarpos, Macedonia) is currently 56th in the nation – and fifth in the MEAC – with 0.39 aces per set.

Senior setter Bibiany Fonseca (Uberlandia, Brazil), who is now fifth in program history in career assists, leads the MEAC and sits 77th in the nation in assists, averaging 10.37 per set.

As a team, the Lady Pirates are 13th in the nation in aces, averaging 1.75 per set, and the team's .240 hitting percentage is not only a conference best, but also it ranks 72nd among all Div. I programs.

Hampton is averaging 13.28 kills per set, sitting 95th in the nation.

As a team, Hampton leads the MEAC in hitting percentage, assists (12.03 per set), kills, aces, and blocks (1.94 per set), and the Lady Pirates are third in opponents' hitting percentage (.203).

In MEAC play, the Lady Pirates have the top hitting percentage (.366), and they also lead the conference in assists (12.77 per set) and kills (13.62 per set). Hampton is second in the conference in MEAC play in opponents' hitting (.123), blocks (2.00 per set), and aces (2.46 per set).

The Lady Pirates are 27-28 all-time against Maryland Eastern Shore, and UMES has won 17 of the last 18 meetings — though Hampton did snap a 16-match losing streak against the Lady Hawks with a four-set win in last year's regular-season finale.

Hampton is undefeated at home so far this season, boasting a five-set win over William & Mary, as well as straight-set conference victories over Morgan State and Coppin State.

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.