Nov. 17, 2008

Box Score

HAMPTON, Va. - The much anticipated rematch of last year's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) women's volleyball championship did lack not excitement. Both teams fought hard, but the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) could not pull out the win and dropped their second straight title match to Florida A&M University (FAMU) 3-2 (17-25, 25-15, 23-25, 31-29, 15-10).

"Coming into the match, we knew that we would be up against the number one team in the south," said Head Coach Don Metil. "It's a match that everyone would expect to go five sets."

Christina EstebanÃÆ'Æ'Æ'ÃÆ'ââ'¬Â '© (El Paso, Texas) was in true Player of the Year form in her final match as a Lady Hawk. She nearly finished her career with a triple-double grabbing a match-high 20 digs, team-high 54 assists and eight kills. Samantha Chukwura (Brooklyn, N.Y.) was also stellar for UMES. Stepping up, the middle hitter tied Rookie of the Year Christine Edwards (Lakewood, Calif.) for the team-high 15 kills. Chukwura had just one error and hit an amazing match-high 77.8 percent.

"I think this is the game we came out with the most intensity we have had all year," said Edwards. "It was a very hard fought game but unfortunately we lost. As [Christina] said, I don't see ourselves as losers because we gave all our heart."

The Lady Hawks took the first set quickly but faltered in the second, hitting just 14 percent from the floor. After topping the Rattlers in set three, UMES was on championship point 24-23 when EstebanÃÆ'Æ'Æ'ÃÆ'ââ'¬Â '©'s serve landed just inches out and tied the set up at 24 all. The Lady Hawks would see four more championship points but not finish as back to back kills by FAMU's Jovana Blazeski put the Rattlers on set point. A huge block by Blazeski and Chelsea Pennick sealed the deal, pushing the match to a deciding fifth set.

The score was tied three times in the final set. But when a kill had FAMU up 11-10, two UMES attack errors and a service ace by Blazeski gave the Rattlers their first championship point. Samara Ferraz finished the match on a hard hit kill giving FAMU their eighth straight MEAC Championship.

The Rattlers finished with three players netting double-doubles. Blazeski had a match-high 30 kills and team-high 16 digs. Susan Egoavil put up a match-high 69 assists and 10 digs and Maria Gomez finished with 13 kills and 13 digs. Ferraz tallied 25 kills.

UMES concludes their season with a 25-9 overall record as the only team undefeated in conference play this season.

"It's lonely at the top," said Metil. "We had a big target on our back this year and luckily all the arrows missed and we walked away 10-0 again. But Florida [A&M] continues to have that edge, that composure."

The Lady Hawks' only conference losses under Metil have been to FAMU in the title matches. Metil boasts an impressive 49-13 record overall at UMES, going 30-2 against MEAC opponents. He is the winningest volleyball coach in UMES history with a .790 win-loss percentage. In his two seasons, Metil has coached two conference Players of the Year and a Rookie of the Year.