Hampton University
Norfolk State
Hampton Travels To Norfolk State Wednesday
9.1.26 | Volleyball
HAMPTON, Va. (Sept. 1, 2026) … The Hampton University volleyball team will travel across the bridge to play local rival Norfolk State in the "Battle of the Bay" Wednesday night. The Pirates are coming off a weekend in which they posted a 1-2 record at the East Carolina Tournament
ABOUT HAMPTON:
The Pirates opened the season with a 3-0 win over Bethune-Cookman to earn their first opening day win since the 2022 season. On the weekend, Hampton was led by the trio of Racquel Frazier (38), Katerina Pappa (36) and Nikola Jaroszewicz (29) who all registered 25 kills or more.
The Pirates saw newcomers make early impacts on the season when Ana Luiza Caminha Matos recorded 25 assists or more in all three matches on the weekend, tallying 88 in total. Janiah Robinson made her presence felt on the defensive side when she registered a block in every match, totaling five in three games, while Jaroszewicz added four.
ABOUT NORFOLK STATE:
The Spartans started the season 1-1 having defeated Elon 3-1 while falling to USC Upstate 1-3 in the Quest for the Crown Tournament. Norfolk State is led by senior standout Gabrielle Gilbert, who has 1,139 kills in her career. She has recorded 27 through the first two games of the 2026 season.
Kyleigh Moore has registered 26 kills on the season while the Spartans have two setters in Nether Erimez (39) and Jasmine Mataira (30) with 30+ assists on the year. Ava Berry leads the defense with 10.0 blocks through two games, while Jazeli Vandenburgh has a team best 39 digs.
INSIDE THE MATCH:
Hampton holds the all-time record over Norfolk State 44-18, but it has been the Spartans winning the last five in the series. A season ago Norfolk State beat Hampton 3-1 inside of Holland Hall and 3-0 at Gill Gymnasium. The Pirates last win over the Spartans came in 2022 when they defeated Norfolk State 3-2 on Wednesday, Sept. 7.
SECOND YEAR LEAP:
The trio of Katerina Pappa, Racquel Fraizer and Dila Derendeli all played an integral part in the Pirates first win of the season against Bethune-Cookman. Pappa (14) and Frazier (11) led the team in kills, while Derendeli recorded a career-high 13 digs. A season ago, Pappa recorded double-digit kills just four times, while she has done so in all three matches this season.
WORLD WIDE PIRATES:
The Pirates have quite the variety of areas and regions on its 2026 roster. Six players are from overseas, while 10 players represent eight states. Overseas Pirates hail from Turkey, Greece, Bolivia, Poland and Brazil, while the states of Maryland, Georgia, New Jersey, Texas, Ohio, New York, California and Virginia are also represented.
