HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University volleyball team played in front of a raucous home crowd Saturday night in Holland Hall, but Presbyterian won the finale of the Tiny Laster Memorial Classic 3-2 (25-23, 14-25, 18-25, 25-20, 15-11).
 
Seniors Vendula Strakova (Brno, Czech Republic) and Krista Kraskura (Kuldiga, Latvia) were named to the All-Tournament Team.
 
"This weekend was a test of will for us and we came up short," head coach Karen Weatherington said. "We showed some flashes of brilliant execution, and in other moments, we struggled to execute. That kind of inconsistency limits your chances of success."
 
Strakova led the Lady Pirates (5-5) with 31 kills, marking the second time this season that she's eclipsed the 30-kill mark, and she now has 1,265 career kills at Hampton, which ranks her second on the all-time list. She is 207 kills behind all-time program leader Chavanca Hoskins (1,472 kills from 2003-06).
 
She also had 13 digs for her fifth double-double of the season and her third in a row.
 
Kraskura tallied her seventh double-double of the season with 10 kills and a team-high 14 digs. She also hit a team-best .370 for the match. Senior Kitija Megne (Kuldiga, Latvia) recorded her sixth straight double-double with 52 assists and 13 digs.
 
Junior Allysa Medina (Menifee, Calif.) added 10 digs.
 
The first set was a tight, back-and-forth affair, one the Lady Pirates led 10-8 after an ace from senior Marija Kocevska (SkopjeKarpos, Macedonia). But Presbyterian fought back, and after a couple lead changes, the Blue Hose (4-6) led 18-15.
 
Hampton scored the next three points to tie the set at 18-18, and an ace from Megne later tied the set at 21-21. Presbyterian scored the next two points to take a 23-21 lead, before the Lady Pirates tied the set at 23-23 on back-to-back kills from Strakova.
 
But the Blue Hose scored the last two points to take the first set.
 
The Lady Pirates jumped out to a 6-2 lead to open the second set after an ace from Medina, and back-to-back kills from Kraskura later in the set gave Hampton an 11-6 lead. Presbyterian scored the next point, before Hampton rattled off five of the next six points to go up 16-8 after a kill from Strakova.
 
The Blue Hose scored the next two points, but Hampton responded with an 8-2 run to take a 24-12 lead. Presbyterian again scored two straight points, cutting the lead to 24-14 before Kraskura gave the Lady Pirates the second set and tie the match at 1-1.
 
The third set was a case of more of the same; after Hampton hit .394 in the second set, the Lady Pirates registered 13 kills and just two errors in the third set, to the tune of a .579 hitting percentage. Hampton led 6-1 after a kill from senior Sonja Maksimovic (Belgrade, Serbia), and a kill from Kocevska later in the set put the Lady Pirates up 8-4.
 
Presbyterian clawed back, tying the set at 11-11, but Hampton went on an 8-3 run to take a 19-14 lead on a Blue Hose attack error. Presbyterian closed the gap to 22-18 on a service ace, but the Lady Pirates scored the last three points – a Kraskura block and back-to-back kills from Strakova to take the third set and go up 2-1.
 
Presbyterian took a 10-7 lead early in the fourth set, trying to avoid the decisive loss. A kill from Strakova later in the set cut that lead to 11-9, before the Blue Hose scored the next five points to take a 16-9 lead. Later, Presbyterian held a 19-11 lead.
 
Hampton scored the next four points, cutting the lead to 19-15 on a kill from Maksimovic.
 
But the Blue Hose scored six of the last 11 points to take the fourth set 25-20 and force a fifth set.
 
An ace from Strakova tied the fifth set at 6-6, before Presbyterian scored the next three points to take a 9-6 lead. Hampton scored the next two points to cut the gap to 9-8 on a kill from Kraskura, before the Blue Hose again opened a gap with a 2-0 spurt.
 
An ace later in the set gave Presbyterian a 13-9 lead, before Kraskura and Strakova each had kills to cut the gap to 13-11. But the Blue Hose scored the next two points to clinch the fifth set and take the hard-fought match.
 
Presbyterian held an 8.0-5.0 edge in blocking, but Hampton led in aces 12-11.
 
"It was great to play at home and have such an incredible atmosphere in memory of Coach Laster," Weatherington said. "We need to be like the tough women he coached and bounce back and perform."
 
The Lady Pirates will compete in the Northern Colorado Classic in Greeley, Colo. on Friday and Saturday. 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.