Sept. 14, 2007
Box Score
BALTIMORE, Md. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore's (UMES) Whitney Johnson totaled a match-high 22 kills and Caylin Woodward added a double-double with 15 kills and 10 digs, to lead the visiting Lady Hawks to a 3-1 (30-15, 30-27, 27-30, 30-28) victory over Morgan State in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference match at Hill Field House on Friday night.
With the win, the Lady Hawks (5-3, 1-0 MEAC) ended a four match losing skid to Morgan State, while handing the Lady Bears their first MEAC opener defeat in 16 years.
Morgan State (0-9, 0-1 MEAC), which is off to its worst start since the 1988 squad went winless, was led by Esther Johnson, who finished with 16 kills, six digs and a block. Jeniqua Moran added 15 kills and a match-high four blocks, while Teneika Fellows recorded a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs. Ashley Preston also finished with 10 digs and Jentri Fullove tallied 41 assists.
Maryland Eastern Shore came out on fire in the opening game, recording 17 kills on 23 attempts for a hitting percentage of .696, while holding Morgan State to just six total kills. The Hawks led by as much as 15 points (27-12) following a kill by Johnson, who also closed out the game with a kill, giving the guests the 30-15 win.
Game two was back and forth and stayed close until Morgan turned a 9-9 tie into a 20-15 advantage. But Maryland Eastern Shore would bounce back and tied the score at 21-21 on the serve of Adora Luster. The Lady Bears would reclaim the lead on a kill by Fullove, but the Hawks went on a 9-5 run to steal the game 30-27 and take a two game lead.
It appeared that the Lady Bears were going to be swept, as UMES scored the first five points of game three. Morgan State, however woke up and countered with a 14-4 run, capped off with a service ace from Fellows, to go ahead 14-9. The Hawks just would not go away, as they would get within 25-24, following a Morgan attack error. The Lady Bears held their composure and a kill by Moran finally ended the game, giving the hosts a 30-27 win.
UMES sealed the match with a game four win that saw Johnson and Woodward combine for nine kills and Morgan State combine for ten errors, six on attacks and four at the service line.
Holiday Eller pitched in with nine kills while setter Christina Estebane' tallied 41 assists, 12 digs and six kills.
The Hawks travel to Bucknell on Tuesday for a non-confrence match beginning at 7:00 pm.
Large portions of this release appear compliments of the Morgan State University Media Relations Office.
