RICHMOND, Va. – The Hampton University volleyball team fell in four sets to Virginia Commonwealth at the Stuart C. Siegle Center on Tuesday evening, as the Rams won 3-1 (25-19, 22-25, 25-13, 25-19).
 
Reeana Richardson led the Lady Pirates with 10 kills, reaching double-digit kills for the third straight match and four out of the last five. Richardson also had four aces and two blocks. Allysa Medina added eight kills and five digs, while Lena Washington added seven kills.
 
Kyndall Nicholas had five kills on nine attacks, going error-free to hit .556, and added two blocks.
 
Tatyana Thomas had a team-high four blocks, while Alexandra Erhart recorded a team-high 19 assists. Brianna Lilly had a team-high eight digs to go along with 15 assists and three service aces.
 
The Lady Pirates (0-10) hit a season-high .202 for the match, registering a season-high 37 kills and tying a season low with 16 errors. Hampton led 9-8 in service aces and 6-2 in team blocks.
 
VCU (4-7) opened the first set with a 4-1 run, before the Lady Pirates answered with a 4-1 run of their own to cut the lead to 5-4 after a kill from Washington. The Rams extended the lead to 8-5, but Hampton responded by scoring the next six points, taking an 11-8 lead after an ace from Lilly.
 
Lilly had all three of her aces during that run.
 
The Rams rattled off eight straight points to end Hampton's run and take a 16-11 lead, before the Lady Pirates scored back-to-back points to cut the gap to 16-13. A 4-2 VCU spurt gave the Rams a 20-15 lead.
 
Hampton cut the lead to 21-18, but VCU closed the set on a 4-1 run to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
VCU hit .517 in the first set.
 
The Lady Pirates hit a team-best .348 in the second set, recording 10 kills and just two errors in 23 total attacks. Hampton burst out of the gate to take an 8-1 lead to open the set. During that run, Richardson had a kill, a block, and an ace.
 
A kill from Washington later gave Hampton a 10-5 lead in the set, before the Rams cut the gap to 10-8. VCU later clawed back to within one, 13-12, before a 5-1 Hampton run gave the Lady Pirates an 18-13 lead following a kill from Medina.
 
VCU went on a 6-1 run to tie the set at 19-19. It was the first of four ties in the closing stages of the set; VCU ultimately tied the set at 22-22, before the Lady Pirates scored the last three points. Another ace from Richardson gave Hampton the set and tied the match at 1-1.
 
But VCU bounced back, hitting .500 in both the third and fourth sets.
 
A kill from Richardson cut VCU's early lead to 6-4 in the third set before the Rams went on an 8-1 run to take a 14-5 lead. A kill from Medina later in the set cut the lead to 16-8, before VCU scored five of the next seven points to go up 21-10.
 
Hampton scored the next three points – a kill from Erhart, a block from Thomas and Richardson, and an ace from Mallory Beard – cutting the lead to 21-13.
 
But VCU scored the last four points to go up 2-1 in the match.
 
Hampton held an early 3-2 lead in the fourth set before VCU scored the next seven points to take a 9-2 lead. Ultimately, the Rams went on a 10-1 run, going up 12-4.
 
But the Lady Pirates clawed back into the match, methodically going on a 12-8 run – cutting VCU's lead to 20-16 after another ace from Beard. But VCU scored three of the next four points to take a 23-17 lead, before closing out the set and the match.
 
Sahbria McLetchie had 21 kills and 11 digs to lead the Rams.
 
The Lady Pirates will close out non-conference play this Friday and Saturday at the N.C. State Tournament on Friday and Saturday, in a tournament field that will include the likes of Tennessee, N.C. State, and Campbell.
 
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.