The defending MEAC Champion, Lady Rattlers of Florida A&M defeated Hampton 3-0 (25-12, 25-23, 25-18) Friday in the quarterfinals of the 2008 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Volleyball Championship tournament at Holland Hall on the campus of Hampton University.

Florida A&M (12-11) took the first set with a commanding score of 25-12, but the Lady Pirates kept it close almost taking the second game. Hampton eventually fell 25-23 before falling in the third game by a score of 25-18.

Samara Ferraz and Jovana Blazeski each had nine kills for the Lady Rattlers, while Maria Gomez recorded eight. Gomez also had 25 of the team’s 27 assists. Blazeski led Florida A&M with 14 digs on defense.

Aaryn Harrison led Hampton (6-28) with nine kills, while Lina Cordoba with six kills led the Lady Pirates with a .385 attack percentage. Lihi Elkayam had all 22 of Hampton’s assists, while Mianna Armstrong had a team-high nine digs.

Florida A&M, the MEAC southern division’s top seed, will face the winner of the Howard-Bethune-Cookman match In Saturday’s semifinal round at 3:30 p.m. in Holland Hall.

For more information on the 2008 MEAC Volleyball Championship or other MEAC sponsored events, log on to www.MEACSports.com.