Hampton Tops Norfolk State
NORFOLK, Va. – Vendula Strakova had 14 kills to lead Hampton to a 3-0 conference victory over the Norfolk State volleyball team in the Battle of the Bay on Sunday afternoon at Joseph Echols Hall.
The Pirates hit .310 on the day and improved to 6-0 in the MEAC Northern Division and 11-9 overall. NSU remained winless at 0-19, 0-7 in conference play.
NSU hit .078, with junior Angie Darcus and freshman Clarke Tyler leading the way with five kills each.
The Spartans scored five straight in the early part of the match, but the Pirates responded with four straight for a 7-6 lead. A 6-1 run a little later gave them a five-point advantage, and Hampton went up by as much as seven before taking a 1-0 lead.
The Spartans tied up the second set at 6-6, and after Hampton won four straight, NSU came back to tie it up again, this time at 11-11. A 7-1 run after that, though, allowed the Pirates to pull away.
Then in the third, Hampton won four straight to start the set, but a kill from sophomore Tori Tulensru and two service aces by senior Kylee Thiim sparked a 5-0 run for NSU. Hampton won the next three points, and then runs of 4-1 and 5-1 gave the Pirates a 17-11 lead. A block by Tyler and sophomore Dominique Parker got the Spartans as close as four the rest of the way.
Darcus also added 12 assists and four digs, while senior Adriana Ramos added nine digs.
NSU will be home next weekend for a pair of matches, beginning Friday with a contest against Morgan State at 7 p.m. at Joseph Echols Hall.
For complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com or www.hamptonpirates.com
Coppin State outlasts Morgan State
BALTIMORE, Md. – The Coppin State volleyball team earned an important 3-2 victory over crosstown rival Morgan State in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Northern Division thriller Sunday afternoon in the Auxiliary Gym.
The Eagles displayed plenty of fight and heart to even their overall record at 10-10 and Northern Division mark at 4-3, which moved them into a third-place tie with Morgan State (11-8, 4-3). Coppin State also avenged its earlier setback to the Lady Bears by rallying from a 2-1 deficit to control the last two games and earn the much-needed triumph.
Coppin State won the first game, 25-19, before Morgan State won the next two games by 25-21 and 25-22 scores. The Eagles won the fourth game, 25-11 and the fifth by a 15-12 margin.
Okpegbue fueled the Eagles’ fire. She finished with a match-high 18 kills for the second consecutive time. She was one of four Coppin State players to finish with double-digit kills. Ariel Richard complemented Okpegbue with 13 kills. Maya Horner added 11 kills and Kendra Ireigbe collected 10 digs and three blocks.
Defensively, the tandem of Gabrielle Otero (19 digs) and Bailee Jackson (10) helped the Eagles, which received 53 assists from Chelsee Sauni (seven digs). Jasmine Burton and Nicole Malave-Adams also combined for 13 digs for Coppin State.
Morgan State’s Samanatha Prescott led four Lady Bears with 15 kills. Arianna Hayden and Everly Macedo added 13 kills each for Morgan State. Carmen Fernandez finished with 48 assists. Macedo (11 digs) and Prescott (10 digs) finished with double-doubles for the Lady Bears. Tamara Leslie had a team-high 15 digs.
Coppin State hits the road this weekend for its annual trip to Virginia to meet Hampton Friday night and Norfolk State next Sunday afternoon.
For complete story, visit www.coppinstatesports.com or www.morganstatebears.com
Maryland Eastern Shore sweeps past Delaware State
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – Following a decisive victory this past Friday to snap a four losing streak, the Hawks of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore wanted to ride the momentum in order to crawl back towards the middle of the pack in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference’s (MEAC) Northern Division. In just three steps UMES successfully did just that all while earning a season sweep of the Hornets in a three set win Sunday at the William P. Hytche Athletic Center.
With the victory the Hawks improved their record to 10-12 overall and a conference record of 3-4. MEAC rival Coppin State earned a win over Morgan State today which gives both teams a 4-3 record in the conference, one game ahead of the Hawks. Furthermore for UMES, their third conference win eclipses last year’s record when the Hawks went 2-10 in conference. Delaware State drops their overall record to 1-16 and 1-5 in the MEAC.
Thanks to her outburst in set two, Ksenia Sukhareva led the Hawks in kills with 11, while Haley Robinson finished with a .455 attack percentage to lead the team. Kirstin Fink delivered three of the team’s eight aces, the most as a team since the match against Rider on September 19th. The freshman from Tucson also led the Hawks defensively with nine digs, followed by Sukhareva’s eight. Robinson participated in four blocks for a game high. UMES’ attack percentage of .315 collectively was the highest in a match all season long.
Jasmine Jackson of Delaware State drove home 13 kills for a game high, and libero Ayana Lee registered 12 digs, also a game high.
UMES will attempt to end their six-game home stand at 3-3 with a of top flight MEAC challenger defeat Howard. First serve is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Friday in the Hytche Center.
For complete story, visit www.umeshawks.com or www.dsuhornets.com