Weekly Notes

LAS CRUCES, N.M. & EL PASO, Texas – The Hampton University volleyball team will compete in the New Mexico State/Texas-El Paso Tournament this Friday and Saturday, playing three matches between the two campuses.

The Lady Pirates (4-5) will take on South Dakota State on Friday at 1 p.m. EST in El Paso, Texas, before heading to Las Cruces, N.M. for a 9 p.m. EST matchup against New Mexico State. On Saturday, the Lady Pirates will return to El Paso to face UTEP at 2 p.m. EST.

First-year head coach Karen Weatherington played her college volleyball at New Mexico State.

Hampton will look to snap a four-match drought after a hard-fought weekend in Morehead, Ky. this past weekend. The Lady Pirates dropped all three matches at the Morehead State Eagle Challenge, despite fighting hard – including a five-set marathon against West Virginia.

Junior rightside Vendula Strakova (Brno, Czech Republic) recorded double-doubles in all three matches – in fact, she has five straight double-doubles – and she totaled 60 kills and 55 digs on the weekend en route to her second MEAC Player of the Week award of the season.

She had a season-high 27 kills and 23 digs against West Virginia.

So far this season, Strakova leads the nation in points, averaging 6.18 per set, and her 5.11 kills per set are the fifth-best average in all of Div. I. Strakova is also 14th in the nation in service aces, averaging a MEAC-best 0.56 per set.

Junior middle blocker Marija Kocevska (SkopjeKarpos, Macedonia) is 39th in the nation and third in the MEAC in service aces, averaging 0.47 pet set.

As a team, Hampton is 38th in the nation in service aces, averaging 1.64 per set.

Senior setter Bibiany Fonseca (Uberlandia, Brazil) leads the MEAC in assists, averaging 10.06 per set. That average is also the 94th-best in the nation. Senior middle blocker Petra Parros (Bloomfield, N.J.) is second in the MEAC with a .359 hitting percentage, one of four Lady Pirates ranked in the top 10.

Junior outside hitter Sonja Maksimovic (Belgrade, Serbia) is fifth at .250, while junior outside hitter Krista Kraskura (Kuldiga, Latvia) is eighth at .238 and Strkova is 10th with a .232 hitting percentage.

Kraskura is also ninth in the MEAC in kills, averaging 2.69 per set.

As a team, the Lady Pirates lead the MEAC in hitting percentage (.231), kills (13.44 per set), and assists (11.92 per set), while also ranking second in the conference in blocks (1.94 per set) and service aces (1.64 per set).

Hampton is fourth in the MEAC in opponents' hitting percentage (.222) and sixth in digs (13.14 per set).

The Lady Pirates have never faced South Dakota State, New Mexico State, or Texas-El Paso.

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.