Sept. 20, 2008
Box Score
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Sweeping their second day at the Colonial Challenge was a must for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) women's volleyball team. Finishing with a 3-0 (25-13, 25-17, 25-19) win against Radford University the Lady Hawks are now 7-6 overall and heading into their last tournament before conference play.
"This road schedule has been tough, but necessary," said Head Coach Don Metil. "We've seen some really talented programs and are confident the experience has helped us."
As a team, UMES outperformed Radford in kills, assists, aces, digs and blocks. Whitney Johnson (Prince Frederick, Md./Univ. at Albany) had a match high eight kills, three of which came in the first set where she committed no errors. In fact, UMES committed just one attack error in the entire set.
In the second set the Hawks took control early, going up 20-10 after a service error by Radford's Lindsay Rupert. A kill by Johnson then started a 3-0 run that included an ace from Christine Edwards (Lakewood, Calif./St. Joseph H.S.) and a kill by Christina EstebanÃÆ'Æ'Æ'ÃÆ'ââ'¬Â '© (El Paso, Texas/Midland College). UMES was on set point when Heidi Haubrich kept Radford alive with a kill followed by a service ace. But the set ended on a ball handling error by the Highlanders freshman setter Leigh Myers. EstebanÃÆ'Æ'Æ'ÃÆ'ââ'¬Â '© had a match high 24 assists and seven digs. And Caylin Woodward (Garden Grove, Calif./Pacifica H.S.) was big defensively, finishing with a team high 13 digs.
Samantha Pimental (Corvallis, Ore./Corvallis H.S.) put down a game high five aces. She is ranked nationally in aces per set and is tied with Edwards for the team high on the season.
In the third set, Melinda Clelland put Radford in the lead for the first time all match on a kill past Edwards. The score was tied three times before UMES pulled away on a 6-0 run. The Highlanders responded with a 5-0 run of their own to tie the game for the fourth time before the Lady Hawks took the lead and never looked back. Clelland led Radford with a team high seven kills. Myers finished with a team high 16 assists and Lauren Clary had a game high 17 digs.
The Hawks now head south to play in a weekend tournament hosted by Winston-Salem State University that includes Savannah State and St. Augustine's. They also see North Carolina Central that weekend in a non-conference tilt.
