BALTIMORE, Md. – Despite being up two sets to none, the Hampton University volleyball team dropped its first conference match of the season Friday night at the Physical Education Complex, as Coppin State fought back to win 3-2 (23-25, 13-25, 28-26, 25-19, 15-13).

The Lady Pirates (13-9, 7-1 MEAC) had their five-match winning streak snapped.

"We knew Coppin State was going to be tough at home," first-year head coach Karen Weatherington said. "We rallies early and they just battled back. It was a good battle, and everyone in the conference is fighting it out in the second round (of MEAC play).

"We know from (non-conference play) that competition on the road is always challenging, and we have to execute in every situation."

Junior rightside Vendula Strakova (Brno, Czech Republic) led the way with 33 kills, hitting .377 on the night. Junior outside hitter Sonja Maksimovic (Belgrade, Serbia) added 16 kills, hitting a team-best .469 by only committing one error in 32 attacks.

Senior setter Bibiany Fonseca (Uberlandia, Brazil) had 53 assists, while senior libero Sheileen Pagan (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico) led the way with 16 digs on defense.

"Sonja had a great match tonight," Weatherington said. "She was dominant at the net tonight, along with (Strakova) and (senior middle blocker Petra Parros)."

Hampton took control early in the first set, leading 5-1. Coppin State closed the gap to 13-8, but the Lady Pirates maintained control and led 20-13. A kill from sophomore outside hitter Allysa Medina (Menifee, Calif.) put Hampton up 23-16.

Strakova later added a kill to put the Lady Pirates up 24-18, forcing set point. Coppin State scored the next five points to cut that lead to 24-23, but Hampton took the set on another kill from Strakova.

Maksimovic gave the Lady Pirates a 7-1 lead early in the second set, as Hampton dominated that stanza. After Coppin State closed to within 10-4, the Lady Pirates scored six of the next seven points to take a 16-5 lead on an ace from junior middle blocker Marija Kocevska (SkopjeKarpos, Macedonia).

From that point on, Coppin State got no closer than within nine the rest of the set.

The Lady Pirates hit .371 (14 kills, one error in 35 attacks) in the second set, before turning in a .405 hitting performance (18 kills, three errors in 27 attacks) in the third set. Coppin State led early in the third set, 5-3, before the Lady Pirates went on an 8-2 run to take an 11-7 lead after an ace from Medina.

Hampton later led 16-11 after Parros and Maksimovic teamed on a block, and Strakova later added a kill to give the Lady Pirates a 20-17 lead. But Coppin State scored the next four points to take a 21-20 lead, and the Lady Eagles later took a 24-22 lead.

Hampton took a 25-24 lead after a 3-0 spurt, thanks to an ace from Pagan, but Coppin State scored four of the next five points to force a fourth set.

Hampton led the fourth set 6-4 before the Lady Eagles scored four straight points to go up 8-6. The Lady Pirates then answered with a 5-1 run to take an 11-9 lead after Kocevska and Maksimovic teamed on a block.

Coppin State went on an 8-1 run to take a 17-12 lead to take control of the set, later taking the set 25-19 to force the decisive fifth set.

The Lady Eagles jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the fifth set, before the Lady Pirates went on a 5-2 run to tie the set at 7-7 after a kill from Maksimovic. Coppin State answered with a 7-3 run, taking a 14-10 lead and forcing match point.

Hampton scored the next three points, closing to within 14-13 after a kill from Strakova. But a Coppin State block on the next rally ended the match.

The Lady Pirates hit .278 (66 kills, 21 errors in 162 attacks) for the match, while Coppin State hit .294 (62 kills, 20 errors in 143 attacks). Hampton held an 11-8 edge in service aces, while Coppin State (8-15, 4-4 MEAC) had eight total blocks to Hampton's six.

Ariel Richard had a team-high 18 kills for the Lady Eagles.

"Teams all over the conference are battling out in October," Weatherington said. "There's a lesson in every loss. We will get back in the gym to refocus and prepare to face another determined MEAC team on Sunday.  We have to continue to work hard, execute our gameplan and fight for each point."

The Lady Pirates will be back in action on Sunday, when they look to rebound at Morgan State at 3 p.m. 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.