Oct. 21, 2004
Box Score
Dover, Del. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) Hawk Volleyball Team continued their recent dominance of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Northern Division by clinching first place tonight with a win over the Lady Hornets of Delaware State University.
New Head Coach Alex Temkin kept the Hawks atop the division again this year by using existing players and bringing in his own players and style of play. "It is an awesome thing," said Temkin. "It is a nice feeling to be able to put out a solid group of players that know how to win and have shown that again this year by winning the MEAC North for the second straight season. We have played great volleyball all season but especially the last six matches."
The win moves the Hawks to 13-13 overall but extends their MEAC record to 7-2 with just Coppin State University left on their conference schedule. With Delaware State (8-19, 6-4 MEAC) and Morgan State both finishing at 6-4 the Hawks have secured first in the division and at least a top three finish overall in the conference.
As for tonight's match Jana Milin had 17 kills and Mandie Dever added 10 to lead UMES to a 3-0 win over Delaware State. The scores were 30-26, 30-28 and 30-21.. Kate Smith had a game-high 37 assists for the Hawks, while also leading the team with seven digs.
Laura Huculak led Delaware State with 10 kills. Dawn Alford had a team-high 24 assists, while Desiree Abeyta led the Hornets with 10 digs.
In the first game, the score was 22-22 before Maryland-Eastern Shore ran off four consecutive points to open up a 26-22 lead. The Hawks scored the game-wining point on an attack error by Delaware State's Michael-Anne Gunsten. In the second game, Maryland-Eastern Shore led 18-12 before Delaware State rallied to make it 27-27 on an attack error by Dever. The Hawks scored three of the final four points to secure the win. In the third game, the score was 6-6 before Maryland-Eastern took control. The Hawks scored 13 of the next 20 points, and opened up a 19-13 lead on an attack error by Huculak. The Hawks led by as many as nine points on three occasions.
"We played well tonight," said Temkin. "We kept their big hitters in check and the entire team dug well."
UMES hits the road again tomorrow as they travel to play MEAC foe Howard in non-conference action in Washington D.C. at 7:00 pm.
