HAMPTON, Va. - Sophomore Jessica Croucher (Brisbane, Australia)
recorded a career-high 21 kills Sunday afternoon at Hampton University's Holland
Hall, but the Hornets scoring woes continued as they fell, 3-2, to the Lady
Pirates in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play.
Croucher
previously collected a career-high 19 kills on Oct. 7 against Morgan State.
DSU
and HU battled things out in the first set, exchanging points throughout the
game. The Hornets took their largest
lead of the game at 19-14, coming off of kills from freshmen Edarkis Branch (Los Angeles, Calif.)
and Theresa Schieder (Munich,
Germany). A kill from sophomore Brooke Redmon (Warrenton, Va.) gave Del
State a 24-20 advantage, but the Lady Pirates rallied to come within 24-23
before a Schieder block pushed the Hornets to a 25-23 victory.
Set
two involved a series of runs for Hampton as they cruised their way to a 25-15
victory. The Lady Pirates jumped out to
a quick 6-1 lead and would never look back.
A kill from Krista Kraskura gave HU a 12-6 lead and sparked a 5-0 run
for the Lady Pirates. A Croucher ace
brought the Hornets within 22-15, but HU closed out on a 3-0 run to finish the
set, 25-15.
The
third set of the match also produced numerous scoring runs, but this time both
teams benefitted. Del State received
three consecutive kills from juniors Bel
Fakaosi (Salt Lake City, Utah), and Laisha
Davis (Riviera Beach, Fla.) and Croucher to force a Hampton timeout. Following the timeout, Croucher collected
another kill to give the Hornets a 13-6 lead.
The Lady Pirates responded later
with their own 6-0 run to come within one at 16-15. DSU proceeded to take a 20-16 lead before HU
tied things at 23-23 with two straight kills from Kraskura. Another kill from Croucher tied things at
26-26 and an attack error from Armstrong forced Hampton to take a timeout at
27-26. Schieder posted another kill
coming out of the timeout to give the Hornets the 28-26 victory and a 2-1 lead
in the match.
The
fourth set resembled the second a bit, but Del State was able to get on the
board more often. The Lady Pirates led,
14-11, before consecutive kills from Croucher brought the Hornets within one at
14-13. Another Croucher kill brought
things to 17-15 before HU went on a 5-0 run to take a 22-15 lead and force DSU
to take a timeout. Croucher tallied
another kill on the night coming out of the timeout and come within 22-16. The two teams exchanged points from then on
out and Hampton took the 25-18 victory.
Del
State (3-15, 2-4 MEAC) never looked alive in the fifth and final set and they
lost, 15-4. The Lady Pirates (9-9, 4-1
MEAC) recorded three service aces and eight kills in the set victory. The Hornets never scored a point off of their
own serves, but Croucher collected two more kills to finish the match.
DSU
returns home on Friday, Oct. 21 to take on Route 13 rival University of
Maryland Eastern Shore.
---DSU VB---
