BALTIMORE, Md. – Despite being down two sets to none Friday evening, the Hampton University volleyball team stormed back to take a 3-2 (22-25, 22-25, 25-19, 25-21, 15-10) win over Coppin State at the Physical Education Complex.
 
The Lady Pirates (8-8, 3-0 MEAC) have won 10 of their last 17 matches to go five sets.
 
"Tonight's match was definitely a battle of wills," head coach Karen Weatherington said. "Coppin State is a great environment to compete in, and they came out and took a quick advantage with their offense. I'm so proud of this unit and their effort and resilience … we really played with the heart of a champion."
 
Senior Vendula Strakova (Brno, Czech Republic) led three Lady Pirates in double figures in kills with 27, hitting .451 for the match and recording 11 digs for her 10th double-double of the season. Senior Krista Kraskura (Kuldiga, Latvia) racked up her eighth double-double with 14 kills and 11 digs.
 
Senior Sonja Maksimovic (Belgrade, Serbia) added 15 kills and 10 digs for her third double-double.
 
The Lady Pirates held a 12.0-8.0 edge in blocks; redshirt freshman Kennedy Kenney (Milpitas, Calif.) tied her season high with 6.0 total blocks, and senior Marija Kocevska (SkopjeKarpos, Macedonia) added 4.0 total blocks.
 
"The attacking plan was incredibly well executed by our outside hitters," Weatherington said, "but I have to credit our middles with maintaining control of the net and blocking especially in the fifth set. Marija and Kennedy made great aggressive plays at the net and for the second week in a row, Kennedy's smart and high-flying play finished the set for us."
 
Hampton hit .362 (67 kills, 16 errors in 141 attacks) for the match.
 
Coppin State (7-9, 1-2 MEAC) held a 7-3 lead in the first set, but the Lady Pirates seized momentum and used a 13-6 run to take a 16-13 lead after a kill from Maksimovic. Strakova later added a kill to put Hampton up 20-17, but Coppin State ended the set on an 8-2 run to take the set.
 
Hampton hit .423 in the first set, despite the opening-set loss, though Coppin State jumped out to a quick 11-4 lead in the second set. An 8-4 Hampton spurt cut the lead to 15-12, and a block from Kocevska later in the set cut the lead to 18-16.
 
The Lady Pirates later cut the lead to 24-22, but the Lady Eagles took the second set, and a seemingly commanding 2-0 lead, on the next rally.
 
Hampton responded in the third set, though – to the tune of a .429 hitting percentage in the frame. A kill from Kraskura gave the Lady Pirates an early 8-5 lead, before Coppin State fought back and took an 11-10 lead. Hampton answered with a 10-3 run, going up 20-14 after a kill from senior Kitija Megne (Kuldiga, Latvia).
 
Kraskura and Kenney teamed on a block later in the set to put the Lady Pirates up 23-17. Coppin State answered with the next two points, before Strakova and Maksimovic registered kills of their own to give the Lady Pirates the 25-19 set win.
 
The fourth set started out as a back-and-forth affair, with 13 ties before Coppin State held a 14-13 lead. Hampton answered by scoring nine of the next 13 points, taking a 22-18 lead after Kocevska and Megne blocked a Maya Horner attack.
 
Coppin State cut the lead to 22-20, before the Lady Pirates scored three of the next four points – forcing a fifth set after a kill from Kraskura closed the fourth set for Hampton, 25-21.
 
The Lady Pirates committed just one error in the fifth set, racking up nine kills and hitting .571 for the frame. Strakova broke a 4-4 tie with a kill, then Kocevska added a kill to wrap up a 4-0 spurt to put the Lady Pirates up 8-4.
 
Coppin State closed the gap to 9-6, then later to 12-9, but again Hampton closed the set by scoring three of the last four points. Kills from Strakova and Maksimovic put Hampton up 14-9, forcing match point before the Lady Eagles got into double digits, cutting the lead to 14-10.
 
Kenney ended the set – and the match – with a kill on the final rally.
 
Hampton has won three straight matches, and dating back to last season, the Lady Pirates have won eight straight matches against MEAC Northern Division foes (including conference tournament matches).
 
"This was a purely a team effort," Weatherington said. "At the break, we talked about controlling our side of net and establishing the tempo, but more than anything, we were just mentally tough. We were able to draw from the experience of those tough matches from the preseason and rise to the challenge."
 
The Lady Pirates will return to Holland Hall on Sunday to take on Howard 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.