Hampton sweeps past Morgan State
HAMPTON, Va. – Despite a third-set push from Morgan State on Sunday, the Hampton University volleyball team won in straight sets, 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 27-25), at Holland Hall.
The Lady Pirates (13-9, 8-0 MEAC) have won eight of their last nine matches.
Senior rightside Vendula Strakova led the way with 19 kills, hitting .400 and racking up five aces. Senior outside hitters Krista Kraskura and Sonja Maksimovic, as well as senior middle blocker Marija Kocevska, all had six kills.
Kocevska hit a team-best .625, while Kraskura led the defense with eight digs.
Senior setter Kitija Megne had 35 assists.
Hampton hit .281 (43 kills, 16 errors in 96 attacks), while holding Morgan State to .122 (28 kills, 17 errors in 90 attacks) hitting. Both teams had nine aces, while Morgan State (11-11, 4-5 MEAC) held a 5.0-4.0 edge in team blocks.
The Lady Pirates will hit the road for a non-conference tilt at Manhattan on Thursday at 7 p.m.
For complete story, visit www.hamptonpirates.com or www.morganstatebears.com
Pierre paces Lady Wildcats past Lady Bulldogs
ORANGEBURG, S.C. – Delicia Pierre had 21 kills as Bethune-Cookman downed South Carolina State 3-2 (25-13,9-25,25-23,24-26,15-8) in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference match Sunday afternoon.
The junior from Trinidad and Tobago hit a season-best .410 to help the Lady Cats (8-18 overall, 6-1 MEAC South) sweep the Lady Bulldogs (2-22,2-5) for the first time since 2009.
Jill Arlaud also was in double-figures kills with 11, and Rhea Simon added seven.
Ortiz-Rosado, who dished out 42 assists, also added two service aces to bring her conference-leading total to 41. Normarie Rolon posted 16 digs, and Rakaya Neely finished with five block assists.
The victory clinched a berth in the MEAC tournament for the Lady Cats, who improved to 4-1 in five-set matches (3-0 MEAC) this season.
B-CU stays on the road next weekend for matches at North Carolina A&T and North Carolina Central.
For complete story, visit www.bcuathletics.com or www.scsuathletics.com
North Carolina Central outlast North Carolina A&T in five sets
DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University volleyball team pulled off a thrilling five-set, 3-2 victory (25-21, 16-25, 27-25, 26-28, 15-11) against the long-time rival North Carolina A&T State University Aggies on Sunday, Oct. 26 in McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium.
Sophomore Kelsey Murphy and Senior Emily Eswonia had career-high afternoons.
Murphy lead the match with 21 kills (.200) and Eswonia had a personal best of eight kills (.250) and 23 digs. Eswonia also contributed a pair of service aces.
Redshirt junior Melissa Rabell Pineiro posted her seventh double-digit performance this season with 29 digs; also a game high.
The Eagles will hit the court again Friday, Oct. 31 in McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium against the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats at 7 p.m.
For complete story, visit www.nccueaglepride.com or www.ncataggies.com
Ireigbe and Horner lead Coppin State by Norfolk State
NORFOLK, Va. – Led by the terrific tandem of junior Kendra Ireigbe and freshman Maya Horner, the Coppin State volleyball team turned its 3-1 come-from-behind victory over Norfolk State into a pre-Halloween block party.
The Eagles claimed a critical Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Northern Division conference triumph to move into sole possession of third place. Coppin State raised its overall record to 11-11 and Northern Division mark to 5-4 overall. After Coppin State dropped the first set, 25-20, the Eagles found their groove to win the next three sets 25-17, 25-15, 25-23.
In addition, with the victory, third-year Coppin State head coach Ashley Preston tied Linda Mitchell's program record for most wins by a CSU head coach.
Ireigbe and Horner had a team-high seven blocks each.
Ireigbe was a dominant force against the Spartans Sunday. In addition to her blocking show, Ireigbe had a team-high 12 kills along with an insane .683 hitting percentage. She has four double-digit kill performances in her last five games. For Ireigbe, it was her sixth match this season with at least five kills. She had a career-best 10 against Eastern Michigan on Sept. 13.
Horner contributed eight kills to finish her weekend with 15.
Junior Cindy Okpegbue had fun as well as she finished with 10 kills. Kandace Thomas collected five blocks and eight kills. Chelsee Sauni had a match-high 40 assists. Defensively, senior Gabrielle Otero collected 17 digs. Coppin State took control in the middle sets by holding the Spartans to a hitting percentage below .200.
Coppin State continues its season Friday night when it hosts Delaware State at 7:00 p.m. All fans are encouraged to wear black as the Eagles will celebrate Halloween with a "Blackout."
For complete story, visit www.coppinstatesports.com or www.nsuspartans.com
Lady Hornets fall in three sets to Howard
DOVER, Del. --- The Delaware State University volleyball team fell in three close sets to MEAC rival Howard in Memorial Hall on Sunday.
The scores were 25-21, 25-23 and 25-22.
The Bison defeated DSU for the second time this season to improve to 13-9 overall and 6-1 in the MEAC. The Hornets fell to 1-20 and 1-6.
Khaila Donaldson led Howard with 15 kills. She also eight digs. Stephanie Shultis led all players with 46 assists, while Allyson Lods had a match-high 10 digs for the Bison.
Jae Jackson topped the Hornets with nine kills on 18 attacks (.444). Alliyah McBean and Jasmine Jackson had a team-high seven digs.
Delaware State tallied 14 blocks in the contest, tops for a three-set match this season. Ariana Stevens led all players with seven blocks and Nevershi Ellis had a career-high five blocks for the Hornets.
Howard had a .250 hitting percentage in the match. The Bison tallied 50 kills and 22 errors on 112 attacks.
The Hornets collected 23 kills and a season-low seven errors on 81 attempts for a .198 attack percentage.
The Bison had 45 digs compared to 29 for the Hornets.
Delaware State returns to action on Thursday (Oct. 30) with a non-conference match against Stony Brook. The contest begins at 6:00 p.m. in Memorial Hall.
For complete story, visit www.dsuhornets.com or www.hubison.com