DURHAM, N.C. – Resiliency was the name of the game on Saturday at McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium, as the Lady Pirates came from behind twice in winning matches against Evansville and Murray State to go unbeaten in the North Carolina Central Invitational.

Hampton (3-0) came back to beat Evansville 3-2 (24-26, 22-25, 25-14, 25-22, 15-9), before defeating Murray State 3-1 (24-26, 27-25, 25-20, 27-25).

This is Hampton's best start to a season since 2005, when the Lady Pirates opened the year with four straight wins. It's also the first time since 2005 (Hampton University Labor Day Tournament) that the Lady Pirates won a regular-season tournament.

Junior rightside Vendula Strakova (Brno, Czech Republic) was named Tournament MVP, while senior middle blocker Petra Parros (Bloomfield, N.J.) was also named to the All-Tournament Team.

"This weekend was a great testament to this team's work ethic and discipline," first-year head coach Karen Weatherington said. "I discovered today how very special this team is. They love to win and hate to lose; that is the mentality that breeds success."

Three Lady Pirates had double-doubles against Evansville, led by 26 kills and a team-high 24 digs from Strakova. Junior outside hitter Krista Kraskura (Kuldiga, Latvia) added 18 kills and 16 digs, committing just three errors for a .366 hitting percentage, while senior setter Bibiany Fonseca (Uberlandia, Brazil) had a career-high 60 assists and 12 digs.

Junior outside hitter Sonja Maksimovic (Belgrade, Serbia) added 11 kills, while freshman outside hitter Sydney McPhillips (Chicago, Ill.) recorded 19 digs on defense.

Hampton led 7-4 in the first set after a Strakova kill, but Evansville bounced back and took a 20-17 lead. The Aces later led 22-19, but the Lady Pirates went on a 5-1 run to take a 24-23 and force set point on an Evansville error.

But the Aces scored the last three points to take the first set.

Evansville controlled much of the second set, taking a 17-12 lead, before Hampton closed to within 18-16 on a Maksimovic kill. Maksimovic and Parros later teamed on a block to close Evansville's lead to 24-22, before the Aces won the next point to go up 2-0.

"We made a few adjustments," Weatherington said, "and we were able to raise our side out efficiency."

Hampton led the third set 8-6, before scoring five straight points to go up 13-6 after Maksimovic and junior Marija Kocevska (SkopjeKarpos, Macedonia) teamed on a block. The Lady Pirates grabbed control of the match from there, leading 22-13 after a Kraskura kill.

"In the third (set), our defense settled in behind the efforts of McPhillips, Strakova and Kraskura and we were able to convert in critical situations," Weatherington said.

Evansville took a 10-5 lead early in the fourth set, before the Lady Pirates went on a 9-2 run to take a 14-12 lead after an Evansville error. Kraskura later added a kill to put the Lady Pirates up 21-18, before the Aces fought back and cut the deficit to 23-22.

Hampton answered with a pair of kills from Maksimovic to force a fifth set.

Maksimovic gave Hampton a 6-3 lead with a kill early in the fifth set, and Strakova later registered a kill to put the Lady Pirates up 9-4. Evansville closed to within 11-8, but the Lady Pirates closed the set on a 4-1 spurt to take the match.

The Lady Pirates hit .297 (74 kills, 23 errors in 172 attacks) against Evansville, while recording three service aces. Evansville hit .229 (58 kills, 19 errors in 170 attacks).

Ashley Ring led the Aces with 22 kills.

Strakova led the way against Murray State with 25 kills and four service aces, while Maksimovic added 14 kills and hit .387 for the match. Parros had the best match of her collegiate career, recording a career-high 17 kills and just one error to hit .571.

Fonseca had 50 of Hampton's 55 assists, while McPhillips and Kraskura led the way with 13 and 12 digs on defense, respectively.

"Sonja made a critical impact on the outside," Weatherington said. "We played a great low-error match, and we were more effective on defense as the match progressed. Petra was a force in the middle all weekend."

The Lady Pirates led 15-14 in the first set against Murray State after a kill from Kraskura, before the Racers went on a 5-2 run to take a 19-17 lead. Hampton answered with four points to take a 21-19 on a Strakova service ace.

Hampton forced set point, going up 24-23 after a kill from Strakova, but Murray State scored the last three points to take the first set.

Parros gave the Lady Pirates a 7-5 lead in the second set with a kill, but Murray State went on a 12-3 run to take a 17-10 lead. Hampton responded with a 10-3 run of its own, tying the set at 20-20 on a Maksimovic kill.

The two teams exchanged points on nine straight rallies, with the Racers up 25-24 and looking to go up 2-0 in the match. But the Lady Pirates answered with three straight points, tying the match at 1-1 on a Murray State error.

Hampton jumped out to an 8-4 lead in the third set, thanks to another Maksimovic kill, and Parros later added a kill to put the Lady Pirates up 16-10. After the Racers scored the next point, Hampton went on a 4-0 spurt, taking a 20-11 lead on a Strakova ace.

Murray State closed to within 22-16, but Hampton never lost control of the set and went up 2-1.

The Racers led the fourth set 10-5, and later held an 18-15 lead in an effort to force a fifth set, but the Lady Pirates scored the next three points to tie the set 18-18 after Strakova and Kocevska teamed on a block.

Murray State then took a 19-18 lead, but Hampton scored the next five points, going up 23-19 on a Kraskura kill. Hampton looked to have the set wrapped up, but the Racers fought back, and the set was tied 25-25.

Parros took care of the rest, recording two straight kills to end the match.

The Lady Pirates hit .287 (68 kills, 20 errors in 167 attacks) as a team, while also recording eight service aces. Murray State hit .266 (56 kills, 19 errors in 139 attacks).

Taylor Olden led Murray State with 15 kills.

"I'm very proud of our team effort," Weatherington said, "and of the great start to the season."

The Lady Pirates will be back in action on Saturday and Sunday, when they head to Chestnut Hill, Mass. For the Boston College Invitational. 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.