Sept. 27, 2008
Box Score
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) women's volleyball team came into the second day of the Lady Rams Invitational tied with hosts Winston-Salem State University (WSSU). Their 8 a.m. match with WSSU was hard fought, but UMES came out on top 3-0 (25-11, 25-10, 25-13).
Christina EstebanÃÆ'Æ'Æ'ÃÆ'ââ'¬Â '© (El Paso, Texas/Midland College) had back to back service aces in the first set to put UMES up 5-0. Both teams fought back and forth until Leah Amundson (Tuscon, Ariz./Arizona Western) served 10 straight points and put the Lady Hawks up 24-11. An attack error by Samantha Chukwura (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bayside) gave WSSU the serve, but she closed the set on a hard hit kill to the middle of the court.
EstebanÃÆ'Æ'Æ'ÃÆ'ââ'¬Â '© finished with game highs in assists (31), aces (7) and tied Amundson for the game high nine digs. Christine Edwards (Lakewood, Calif./S. Joseph) led the Lady Hawks with a game high 12 kills.
WSSU came alive in the third set, battling point for point before getting their first lead of the match. UMES pushed back and tied the set for the seventh time on a kill by Whitney Johnson (Prince Frederick, Md./Albany). They then went on a 7-0 run that included two more service aces from EstebanÃÆ'Æ'Æ'ÃÆ'ââ'¬Â '© to put the Lady Hawks up 15-8. WSSU had a couple runs, but a kill from Edwards gave UMES the serve and they pushed a 4-0 run to end the match.
Valentina Pushkina and Annika Barnwell led the Lady Rams with four kills a piece. Alexandria Brown finished with a team high six assists and Lore McBroom led WSSU with eight digs.
The Lady Hawks will take on the number four seed, Savannah State University (SSU) at 11 a.m. UMES defeated SSU last night 3-0. The winner will move on to the championship game at 2 p.m. and face either WSSU or Saint Augustine's College.
