Weekly Notes

BALTIMORE, Md. – The Hampton University volleyball team will have a pair of conference matches this weekend, traveling to take on Coppin State on Friday at 7 p.m., before returning to Holland Hall on Sunday to face rival Howard at 3 p.m.
 
Live Stats: Howard.
Live Video: Coppin State.
 
Last Time Out: The Lady Pirates (7-8, 2-0 MEAC) got conference play off to a strong start last weekend, beating Norfolk State in straight sets on Friday before beating Morgan State 3-1 on Sunday. Senior rightside Vendula Strakova (Brno, Czech Republic) was named MEAC Player of the Week for the third time this season after hitting .477 over the course of the weekend, recording double-doubles in both matches (15 kills, 11 digs vs. Norfolk State; 24 kills, 12 digs at Morgan State).
 
The Opponents: The Lady Pirates are 34-7 against Coppin State after winning two of three meetings in 2013 — including a five-set thriller in the MEAC championship match — and 22-28 against Howard, having won 12 straight in that series.
 
Away From the Pirates Den: Dating back to last season, the Lady Pirates are 18-17 in matches away from Holland Hall, going 7-12 in true road contests and 11-5 in neutral-court matches. Hampton is 2-4 in true road matches so far this season after Sunday's four-set win over Morgan State. Dating back to 2013, the Lady Pirates have won 11 of their last 18 matches away from Holland Hall.
 
At Home: The Lady Pirates were a perfect 7-0 in Holland Hall last season, including a five-set win over William and Mary in their lone non-conference home match. Five of those seven matches were straight-set victories. Overall, the Lady Pirates had won 10 straight home matches dating back to the 2012 season; prior to losing both matches of the Tiny Laster Memorial Classic on Sept. 12-13. Hampton's first home win of 2014 came this past Friday in straight sets over rival Norfolk State.
 
A Historic Season: The 2013 season was one of firsts for the Lady Pirates; they won their first-ever MEAC Tournament title — and corresponding bid to the NCAA Tournament — after taking their first MEAC Northern Division regular-season crown. Hampton won 19 matches last season, tying the program Div. I mark for most wins in a season, and the Lady Pirates' 10-2 record in conference play marked a program Div. I high in conference wins in a season.
 
Lady Pirates Picked to Repeat: The Lady Pirates were picked as the favorite to win the MEAC Northern Division this season, picking up 23 of a possible 26 first-place votes in a preseason poll voted on by the conference's head coaches and sports information directors. Hampton went 19-11 last season and won the MEAC Northern Division regular-season crown with a mark of 10-2 — setting the program Div. I mark for most conference wins in a single season. The Lady Pirates went on win their first-ever MEAC Tournament crown.
 
Strakova Named MEAC Preseason Player of the Year: Strakova has been tabbed the MEAC Preseason Player of the Year — after earning the conference's top honor in 2013 (becoming the first Hampton player to do so). It's yet another in a laundry list of accolades for Strakova, who last year was named Honorable Mention All-American by the American Volleyball Coaches Association — becoming the first Hampton player ever to be recognized by the AVCA. She was also named AVCA All-East Region, the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) Player of the Year, and the MEAC Tournament's Most Outstanding Player (another Hampton first).
 
Start the Countdown: Following this past weekend's matches to open MEAC play, Strakova has 1,364 career kills at Hampton, which ranks her second in program history and makes her one of just five players ever to cross the 1,000-kill mark. After tallying 24 kills on Sunday against Morgan State, Strakova is now just 108 kills behind all-time record holder Chavanca Hoskins, who tallied 1,472 kills from 2003-06. So far this season, she has already passed both Nicole Adams (1,244) and LaJaiah Miles (1,249) on the program's all-time career kills list. Strakova already has 330 kills so far this season.
 
Kraskura Off to a Strong Start: As the Lady Pirates' No. 2 offensive threat, senior outside hitter Krista Kraskura (Kuldiga, Latvia) had a strong 2013 season — earning Second Team All-MEAC honors. She was strong in the DePaul Invitational to open the season, recording three double-doubles and hitting .340. She now has seven double-doubles in 15 matches to open the season after opening MEAC play this past weekend against Norfolk State and Morgan State.
 
Medina Broke Out in 2013: Junior outside hitter Allysa Medina (Menifee, Calif.) was one of the Lady Pirates' most improved players in 2013, showing power on the outside that betray her 5-foot-6 frame. Medina had a career-high nine kills in a five-set win over William & Mary to announce her arrival, and in conference play, she had 92 kills, an average of 0.91 per set, to go along with 123 digs on defense. She added eight kills against Norfolk State, hitting a career-best .533 in that match after going error-free in 15 attacks.
 
Thomas Gives Lady Pirates Local Flavor: Incoming freshman middle blocker Tatyana Thomas (Suffolk, Va.) isn't just the tallest player on the team, standing at 6-foot-3. She is also the only player on the roster from Virginia, having played her high school volleyball at Nansemond River High School in nearby Suffolk, Va. There, she played under current Lady Pirates assistant coach Nicole Giancola, and as a senior, she was named the Ironclad Conference Player of the Year. She led Nansemond River to the conference championship and was named Team MVP.
 
Block Party: Six Lady Pirates recorded at least 30 total blocks last season, led by middle blocker Marija Kocevska (SkopjeKarpos, Macedonia), who had 100.0 total blocks. Strakova was second on the team with 69.0 total blocks in 2013, and Petra Parros — who is now on the Lady Pirates' coaching staff — was third with 64.0 total blocks. Senior outside hitter Sonja Maksimovic (39.0), recently-graduated setter Bibiany Fonseca (38.0), and Kraskura (33.0) were also strong at the net in 2013. Hampton had more blocks than its opponent 11 times in 2013, going 10-1 in those matches.
 
Lady Pirates in the National Rankings: Following last weekend's action, Strakova leads the nation in total kills with 330, while she also ranks second among all Div. I players in total attacks (750), kills per set (5.69), and points per set (6.30). She is also third nationally in attacks per set, averaging 12.93. Senior setter Kitija Megne (Kuldiga, Latvia) is 16th in the nation in total assists (632) and 36th in assists per set (10.90). As a team, the Lady Pirates are 40th in total assists (728), 43rd in total kills (772), 46th in hitting percentage (.256), 65th in assists per set (12.55), 89th in kills per set (13.31), and 91st in total aces (76).
 
Lady Pirates Have Plenty of Experience: Despite graduating five seniors last season, the Lady Pirates come into 2014 with a bevy of experience — thanks in large part to four returning seniors, a senior transfer, and a junior. Strakova, Kraskura, Maksimovic, and Kocevska each have at least two seasons' worth of experience at Hampton, and all four played in at least 85 sets in 2013. In addition, Megne, a setter, has Div. I experience thanks to her time at Virginia Tech. Medina is the team's lone junior.
 
Making Quick Work of It: The Lady Pirates went 10-4 in three-set matches last season, and prior to their NCAA Tournament match-up against Stanford, they had won seven of their last eight matches that wrapped up in straight sets. Hampton is 3-2 in straight sets so far this season after a straight-set win over Norfolk State this past Friday.
 
Over the Long Haul: The Lady Pirates went 4-2 in five-set matches last season — including the MEAC Tournament championship match against Coppin State. Over the past two-plus seasons, the Lady Pirates are 9-7 in matches that go the distance following a hard-fought five-set loss to Presbyterian on Sept. 13.
 
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.