HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University volleyball team said goodbye to five seniors in style Sunday afternoon at Holland Hall, closing out the 2014 home slate with a 3-1 (25-19, 25-19, 23-25, 25-18) win over Maryland Eastern Shore.
 
The Lady Pirates (17-10, 10-1 MEAC) have won 12 of their last 14 matches.
 
Head coach Karen Weatherington is now just one win shy of 100 for her career.

"There's so many things that could be said about today's Senior Day match," Weatherington said. "It was touching to honor this group of women and all their contributions to Hampton University and this athletic department. Among these five athletes are some of the greatest students I have ever coached. They excel in the classroom with 3.7 to 4.0 GPAs and have made an indelible mark as the leaders of this team. Kitija and Marija are talented artists who will impact the world with some of their work."
 
Senior rightside Vendula Strakova (Brno, Czech Republic) led the way with 21 kills and a team-high 17 digs, recording her 17th double-double of the season. Senior outside hitters Krista Krskura (Kuldiga, Latvia) and Sonja Maksimovic (Belgrade, Serbia) had nine and eight kills, respectively.
 
Kraskura added 11 digs.
 
Senior setter Kitija Megne (Kuldiga, Latvia) had 39 assists and 12 digs to go along with three service aces. Junior libero Allysa Medina (Menifee, Calif.) added 15 digs.
 
Medina and senior middle blocker Marija Kocevska (Skopje, Macedonia) each had three aces.
 
The Lady Pirates hit .228 (52 kills, 21 errors in 136 attacks) and led 12-4 in aces. UMES (11-17, 4-8 MEAC) held a 9.0-2.0 edge in blocks and hit .192 (38 kills, 14 errors in 125 attacks) for the match.
 
The Lady Pirates, who went 6-3 at home this season, hit a team-best .300 (14 kills, five errors in 30 attacks) in the first set, and jumped out to a 10-3 lead early in the set. UMES fought back to cut the lead to 17-12, before Hampton scored five straight and led 22-12 after an ace from Kocevska.
 
UMES scored four of five points, cutting the lead to 23-16, before Maksimovic forced set point with a kill. The Hawks scored the next three points, but a bad serve gave the Lady Pirates the first set 25-19.
 
The second set was tied at 7-7 early on, before the Lady Pirates went on a 6-1 run to take a 13-8 lead. UMES used a 6-3 spurt to close the gap to 16-14, before a 5-2 Hampton spurt grew the lead to 21-16 after a kill from Megne.
 
UMES scored the next point, before Hampton ended the set with a 4-1 spurt, taking the set 25-19 and going up 2-0 in the match.
 
That momentum carried into the third set, as the Lady Pirates took an 8-1 lead. UMES gradually fought back to tie the set at 13-13, and the Hawks later led 18-17. Hampton scored the next three points to take a 20-18 lead on an ace from Strakova.
 
UMES closed the set on a 7-3 run, though, to avoid the sweep.
 
The Hawks cut Hampton's lead to 9-7 early in the fourth set, before the Lady Pirates scored three straight points to take a 12-7 lead on a kill from Strakova. UMES later cut the lead to 18-14, before Hampton went on a 5-2 run to lead 23-16.
 
UMES scored the next two points, cutting the lead to 23-18, but a Hawks error and a kill from Kraskura clinched the set and the match.

"These women are strong, disciplined, and talented and that shows in their play," Weatherington said. "We knew UMES would challenge us and we had to have strong composed style tonight. No win is guaranteed and we did the work to be successful. We have a long road ahead and will continue to work hard for the MEAC title."
 
The Lady Pirates will be in Dover, Del. on Friday, closing out the regular season at Delaware State at 6 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.