HARRISONBURG, Va. – Despite a fast start Friday evening, the Hampton University volleyball team fell to host James Madison in the first night of the JMU Invitational at the Sinclair Gymnasium, as the host Dukes won 3-1 (20-25, 25-23, 25-21, 29-27).
 
Three Lady Pirates racked up double-digit kills and three recorded double-doubles – led by senior Vendula Strakova (Brno, Czech Republic), who continued her hot start to the season with a match-high 26 kills and 12 digs.
 
Senior Krista Kraskura (Kuldiga, Latvia) added 15 kills, hitting .353, and senior Sonja Maksimovic (Belgrade, Serbia) added 12 kills and 11 digs.
 
Senior Kitija Megne (Kuldiga, Latvia) had a career-high 55 assists and a team-high 13 digs.
 
The Lady Pirates (3-2) hit .294 for the match, recording 62 kills and just 20 errors in 143 attacks. Hampton had a better hitting percentage and more kills than JMU, but the Dukes led 6-5 in aces and 12.0-8.0 in total blocks.
 
JMU held a 5-4 lead early in the first set, but the Lady pirates went on an 8-0 run, taking a 12-5 lead after Kraskura and senior Marija Kocevska (SkopjeKarpos, Macedonia) paired up on a block. During that run, JMU committed four attack errors and a ball handling error.
 
JMU scored the next six points to close the gap to 12-11, before Hampton went on a 4-1 spurt and took a 16-12 lead on an ace from Megne.
 
JMU closed it to 18-16 before the Lady Pirates scored three straight, using an ace from Strakova to take a 21-16 lead. From that point on, JMU could get no closer than within four before Strakova clinched the set 25-20 with a kill.
 
The Lady Pirates carried that momentum into the second set, taking a 5-2 lead after a kill from Strakova. A kill from Megne later in the set put Hampton up 8-5, before JMU scored the next five points to take a 10-5 lead.
 
JMU later held a 16-12 lead, before the Lady Pirates scored four straight to tie the set at 16-16 after a Dukes attack error. The Dukes took the lead again and tried to establish control – though Hampton cut the lead to 24-23 on a kill from Strakova.
 
But JMU scored the next point to take the set and tie the match.
 
JMU led 8-4 early in the third set, though the Lady Pirates methodically made their way back into the set and eventually cut that lead to 14-13 on a kill from Kraskura. A JMU attack error later in the set cut the lead to 16-15, before the Dukes scored the next three points to create some space.
 
JMU won the set 25-21 to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
Hampton jumped out to a 4-2 lead to open the fourth set, before JMU fought back to tie the set at 7-7. Hampton scored the next two points, going up 9-7 on a kill from Strakova. Back-to-back kills from Kocevska later in the set gave the Lady Pirates a 14-12 lead.
 
But the Dukes answered with a 5-1 run to take a 17-15 lead, before Hampton rattled off three straight points to take an 18-17 lead after a kill from Maksimovic.
 
The teams exchanged the lead twice before the Lady Pirates took a 22-20 lead on a kill from Kraskura and a Kraskura and Kocevska block. JMU fought back to tie the set at 22-22, before Strakova gave the Lady Pirates a 23-22 lead.
 
The teams exchanged points over the next eight rallies, before the Lady Pirates took a 27-26 lead on a kill from Strakova. But the Dukes answered with three unanswered points to steal the fourth set and take the match.
 
Hampton hit a team-best .447 (21 kills, four errors in 38 attacks) in the fourth set.
 
The Lady Pirates will wrap up the JMU Invitational on Saturday, taking on George Washington at 10 a.m. before squaring off against Southeastern Louisiana at 5 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.