HAMPTON, Va. – The opener of the 2014 Tiny Laster Memorial Classic was a nail-biter Friday evening at Holland Hall, as the Hampton University volleyball team battled Georgetown before the Hoyas escaped with a 3-1 (25-23, 17-25, 25-18, 29-27) win.
 
The Lady Pirates are 5-4 on the young season.
 
Senior Vendula Strakova (Brno, Czech Republic) led three Lady Pirates in double figures in kills with 19, while also recording 13 digs on defense for her fourth double-double of the season. Senior Krista Kraskura (Kuldiga, Latvia) added 16 kills, while senior Sonja Maksimovic (Belgrade, Serbia) had 11 kills and 10 digs.
 
Senior Kitija Megne (Kuldiga, Latvia) and junior Allysa Medina (Menifee, Calif.) each had a team-high 14 digs. Megne also had 38 assists for her fifth straight double-double.
 
Though the Lady Pirates hit just .179 for the match (55 kills, 27 errors in 156 attacks), they held the Hoyas (5-3) to just .176 hitting, racking up 48 kills and 22 errors in 148 attacks.
 
Georgetown jumped out to an 8-3 lead early in the first set, before Hampton scored 10 of the next 15 points to tie the set at 13-13 after a kill from Strakova. The Hoyas scored the next four points, taking a 17-13 lead, before the Lady Pirates tied the set at 19-19 with a 6-2 run that ended with an ace from senior Marija Kocevska (SkopjeKarpos, Macedonia).
 
Strakova tied the set at 22-22 with a kill, and two rallies later, Kraskura registered a kill of her own to tie the set at 23-23. But Georgetown scored the last two points to steal the first set.
 
The Lady Pirates held an 8-7 lead early in the second set thanks to a kill from Maksimovic, before the Hoyas clawed back to take a 10-9 lead. But the Lady Pirates scored the next four points to go up 13-10 after a kill from Kraskura.
 
Georgetown scored the next three points to tie the set at 13-13, before Hampton answered with its own 3-0 spurt – taking a 16-13 lead on a Georgetown attack error.
 
After the Hoyas cut Hampton's lead to 18-16, the Lady Pirates closed the set on a 7-1 run, taking the second set and tying the match at 1-1 after a kill from Maksimovic.
 
An early kill from Kraskura gave the Lady Pirates a 4-2 lead in the third set, before the Hoyas went on a 6-1 run to take an 8-5 lead. Hampton refused to back down, though, and the Lady Pirates clawed to within 12-11 after an attack error from the Hoyas.
 
Georgetown scored four of the next five points, taking a 16-12 lead, but the Lady Pirates fought back and cut the lead to 18-16 on a kill from Strakova. But the Hoyas closed the set on a 7-2 run, taking the set 25-18 and a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
Hampton wasted no time establishing itself in the fourth set, as the Lady Pirates jumped out to an 11-4 lead. Georgetown scored the next five points to cut the lead to 11-9, before a 5-2 Hampton run gave the Lady Pirates a 16-11 lead.
 
Georgetown scored three of the next four points to cut the lead to 17-14, before the Lady Pirates scored the next four points and took a 21-14 lead on an ace from Medina. Georgetown answered with a 6-1 run to cut the lead to 22-20.
 
Strakova had a kill to give Hampton a 23-20 lead, before Georgetown scored the next three points to tie the set at 23-23. It was the first of five ties in the closing moments of the fourth set, the last coming from a Strakova kill to tie the set at 27-27.
 
But the Hoyas scored the last two points to avoid a fifth set and take the match.
 
The Lady Pirates will close out the Tiny Laster Memorial Classic on Saturday, taking on Presbyterian 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.