DOVER, Del. – The Hampton University volleyball team wrapped up the regular season Friday evening with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-13) win over Delaware State at Memorial Hall Gym, as head coach Karen Weatherington picked up her 100th career win.
 
Weatherington is 100-77 as a head coach, 37-21 at Hampton.

"I am thankful to be with this group for my 100th career win," she said. "These two years have been the best and happiest of my professional tenure and I credit them with this success and so pleased to share it with them."
 
The Lady Pirates (18-10, 11-1 MEAC) have won 13 of their last 15 matches. They will be the MEAC Northern Division's top seed in the 2014 MEAC Volleyball Championships, Nov. 21-23 at Coppin State.

"I am humbled by the team's production tonight," Weatherington said. "They played so well. We had another breakout performance by freshman middle Tatyana Thomas. She hit blazing .444 and had five blocks. The upperclassmen really carry this team and tonight was no different. They truly came out on a mission to finish strong and our .393 hitting percentage is a result."
 
Senior rightside Vendula Strakova (Brno, Czech Republic) led the way with 16 kills, registering just three errors in hitting .448. Senior outside hitter Krista Kraskura (Kuldiga, Latvia) added eight kills, going error-free in 16 attempts.
 
Strakova, Kraskura, and junior libero Allysa Medina (Menifee, Calif.) each had seven digs.
 
Senior setter Kitija Megne (Kuldiga, Latvia) had 32 assists.
 
The Lady Pirates hit .393 (43 kills, eight errors in 89 attacks) for the match, while limiting Delaware State to just .113 (27 kills, 18 errors in 80 attacks). Hampton held a 4-2 edge in aces and a 7.0-3.0 advantage in team blocks.
 
The Lady Pirates led 9-4 early in the first set, before Delaware State () closed the gap to 9-6. Hampton answered with a 9-5 spurt to take an 18-11 lead after a pair of bad sets from the Hornets. Delaware State scored four of the next five points to close the gap to 19-15.
 
But Hampton closed the set on a 6-1 run, taking the set 25-16 after a kill from Strakova and a ball-handling error from the Hornets.
 
The Lady Pirates hit .407 (13 kills, two errors in 27 attacks) in the first set.
 
Delaware State held a 16-15 lead in the second set, and the two teams traded points before the Hornets took an 18-17 lead. Hampton responded by scoring the next five points, taking a 22-18 lead on another Hornets error.
 
Delaware State scored four of the next six points, cutting Hampton's lead to 24-22, before Strakova recorded a kill on the next rally to give the Lady Pirates the set and a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
The Lady Pirates hit a match-best .483 (15 kills, one error in 29 attacks) in the third set, and they held a 9-4 lead after a kill from Megne. Delaware State scored the next two points, cutting the lead to 9-6, before the Lady Pirates went on a 13-2 run, taking a 22-8 lead after a kill from Strakova.
 
Delaware State scored the next three points, cutting the lead to 22-11, but the Lady Pirates scored three of the final five points, taking the set – and the match – on a kill from Megne.

"We look forward to the challenge of the MEAC Tournament," Weatherington said. "It will be a tough weekend with lot of hard-fought matches. As I have said, all season, we don't have to defend our championship title; we earned that one and own it proudly. We have to work equally as hard to gain another one and we will."
 
The Lady Pirates will open the MEAC Championships on Friday, Nov. 21 in the quarterfinals against North Carolina Central at 1 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.