Sept. 23, 2010
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DURHAM, N.C. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore women's volleyball team (5-8), winner of four of its last five matches, heads to the NCCU Volleyall Tournament this weekend. to play Hampton and East Tennessee State (Friday) and South Carolina State and North Carolina Central (Saturday). The event marks the last in-season tournament away from home on the Hawks' schedule.
HAWKS TOP HOWARD, NAVY LAST WEEKEND Last weekend, UMES finished second in the Kristin Dickmann Memorial Tournament at Navy, defeating Howard (3-0) and the host Midshipmen (3-2). Hartford claimed the tournament crown after a tiebreaking procedure (Howard, Hartford and UMES were all 2-1) handed UH the win.
LEA'AETOA, CHUKWURA NAMED NAVY ALL-TOURNEY Freshman Kaveingna Lea'Aetoa and redshirt senior Samantha Chukwura grabbed Kristin Dickmann Memorial Tournament All-Tournament Team nods for their performances in the Sept.17-18 event. Lea'Aetoa finished the weekend with a .315 hitting percentage, 3.31 kills per game and 1.08 blocks per game. Chukwura countered with a .368 efficiency and 2.31 kills per game.
LEA'AETOA TABBED MEAC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK Kaveingna Lea'Aetoa was named MEAC Rookie of the Week after helping the Hawks to a 2-1 mark at the Kristin Dickmann Memorial Tournament at Navy. Lea'Aetoa was one of two Hawks named to the all-tournament team as she tallied 43 kills (3.31 per game) and a .315 hitting percentage in three matches. She also had 13 total blocks (1.08 per game), seven digs and two aces. Lea'Aetoa's top single-match effort came in a five-set loss to Hartford, when she registered 17 kills, four total blocks, four digs while hitting .382. She was the third UMES player to be given a conference honor in the last two weeks as Maline Vaitai and Zoe Bowens swept the honors a week prior.
SCOUTING HAMPTON Hampton comes into the tournament at 1-14 with its only win over North Carolina Central on Sept. 18. The Lady Pirates are led offensively by senior Aaryn Harrison with a 2.51 kills per game average. Junior Lihi Elkayam runs the offense distributing 7.11 assists per game. Senior Ivanna Saput is tops on the team in digs with a 3.89 per game average. Hampton is coached by Pedro Gonzalez, in his fourth season at the school.
SCOUTING EAST TENNESSEE STATE East Tennessee State comes into the weekend with a record of 0-5 after defeating Chattanooga on Wednesday. ETSU leads the Atlantic Sun in blocks per game at 2.37 with Allysa Long averaging 1.20 per game The Buccaneers are led offensively by Megan Devine, who is ninth in the conference at 2.91 per game. Whitney Cogburn is fourth in the league in assists with a 9.60 per game average. Kiley Tamblyn is third in the league in digs per game at 4.24. ETSU is coached by Lindsey Devine who is in her eighth season at the school.
SCOUTING SOUTH CAROLINA STATE South Carolina State has a record of 4-11, with wins against UMES, NCCU, Hampton and Mercer. The Lady Bulldogs are led by Jarne Gleaton who is averaging 2.94 kills per game. Bria Brimmer, teh reigning MEAC Player of the Week, is second in the league in assists at 8.23. Brimmer is also tops on the team defensively, averaging 2.05 digs per game. SCSU is coached by Millicent Sylvan, in her fourth season.
SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL SNorth Carolina Central stands at 2-13 on the season, with wins against te Citadel (Sept. 18) and Delaware State (Aug. 28). The Eagles are led by Belinda Behncke-Biney with a 3.02 kills per game average. Jzima-Malaki Kalao is the team's top setter, averagiing 6.80 assists per game while NCCU gets 3.06 digs per game from Raven King. The Eagles are coached by Georgette Crawford-Crooks in her fourth season in Durham.
SERIES HISTORY UMES and Hampton will meet for the 43rd time since the series began in the 1981 season on Saturday. UMES has won the last eight matches against HU dating back to 2006. UMES last topped Hampton, 3-0, Aug. 27 this season. The Hawks lead the series with South Carolina State, 4-2, 2003 and are 4-0 against the host North Carolina Central Eagles, including defeating them twice last season. UMES beat NCCU Oct. 4 and Nov. 14, 3-0 both times.
BOWENS, CHUKWURA NAMED ALL-TOURNEY AT URI Redshirt senior Samantha Chukwura and junior Zoe Bowens were named to the Art Carmichael URI Volleyball Invitational All-Tournament Team Sept. 11. Chukwura hit a team-best .417 (25 kills, five errors, 48 total attacks) with 1.92 kills per game. She also totaled four block assists and four digs. Bowens recorded 35 kills, 11 digs and six aces on the weekend. She posted a 2.69 kills per game average and hit .222 (35-13-99).
BOWENS, VAITAI SWEEP MEAC HONORS (SEPT. 13) Junior Zoe Bowens and freshman Maline Vaitai were named MEAC Player and Rookie of the Week, Sept. 13. Bowens tallied 35 kills (2.69 per game) and a .222 hitting percentage in three matches. Bowens also had 11 digs and six aces. Bowens top single-match effort came in a five-set loss to URI, when she registered 16 kills six digs and three aces while hitting .222. Vaitai had 40 kills 15 digs, six aces and 1.5 blocks. Her best performance was against the Rams. Vaitai had 18 kills, six digs and two aces. The weekly honors were the first two earned by the volleyball team this season.
BOWENS NAMED FIESTA BOWL ALL-TOURNAMENT Junior outside hitter was named to the Fiesta Bowl Volleyball Tournament All-Tournament Team last weekend. The 5-foot-11 Long Beach, Calif., native had a .191 attack percentage with 3.30 kills per game in losses to Rider, Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Northern Arizona. Bowens tied for the match high with 12 kills against Rider and collected a team-high 10 against NAU.
VAITAI NAMED HAMPTON ALL-TOURNAMENT Freshman outside hitter Maline Vaitai was the only UMES player to be named to the Tiny Laster Memorial Tournament All-Tournament Team on Aug. 29. The 6-footer averaged 3.22 kills and 1.72 digs per game for the Hawks. Her best performance came in her first collegiate match against Towson. Vaitai tallied 19 kills, five digs, four block assists and an ace while hitting .182.
VAITAI MAKING AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT Through 13 matches, freshman outside hitter Maline Vaitai is tied for first in the MEAC in kills per game at 3.09. She is also first in the league in points per game at 3.73 and service aces per game at 0.39. Vaitai's 19 kills in the opening match of the season against Towson at Hampton's Tiny Laster Invitional were the third most in a MEAC match to this point in the season.
BOWENS STEPPING UP FOR YOUNG HAWKS With just four upperclassmen - three with significant experience at the Division I level - junior Zoe Bowens has been called upon to bring UMES leadership in 2010. Thus far, she is doing just that. Bowens is tied for first in the MEAC in kills (167) and kills per game (3.17). She is second in points per game (3.53). Bowens has the 15th best single-match hitting percentage in the conference (.389, versus Hartford) and the second-most kills in a match (22, versus Wofford).
KAVE MAKING PRESENCE FELT AT NET Freshman middle blocker Kaveingna Lea'Aetoa is leading the UMES block this season with 39 total through 13 matches (0.72 per set). the 5-foot-11 Salt Lake City, Utah native has 26 block assists and two of the top-5 single-game block totals in the MEAC this season. Lea'Aetoa swatted eight attacks at Navy in a five-set win on Sept. 18 and six more in a five-set loss to Wofford on Aug. 28.
HAWKS PLAY MOST FIVE-SETTERS UNDER METIL In just 13 matches this season, UMES has already played more five-set matches (seven) than in any of head coach Don Metil's first three seasons at UMES. The Hawks are 2-5 when matches go the distance in 2010. UMES played just two five-setters last season (1-1) and four in 2008 (1-3). In 2007, Metil's first season, the Hawks played six fivesetters and were 5-1 on those occasions.
2009: TIED FOR THIRD MOST WINS EVER The 2009 Hawks won 24 total matches, which tied for the third highest win total in school history. The 2003 team won 26 matches, the most in UMES history. The 2003 squad was led by one of the greatest players in UMES history, Jana Milin. She was named MEAC Player of the Year in both 2002 and 2003. Milin still holds the singleseason record for kills with 644 in 2003.
UMES LED NCAA IN ACES PER GAME IN 2009 For the second time in head coach Don Metil's tenure, UMES led NCAA in aces per game with 2.54. The Hawks also took the individual statistical crown in the 2007 season with a 2.84 per game average.The Hawks had two players (both of whom did not return to this year's squad) place in the top-9 individually in aces per game.
THREE-YEAR DOMINANCE IN THE MEAC Since head coach Don Metil arrived in Princess Anne, Md., the Hawks have had a stranglehold on the entire conference. In 2009, the Hawks dropped just one conference set and again in 2008, they went a 10-0 against MEAC opponents. In 2007, it was the same story. UMES was again perfect in the conference. In fact the Hawks had one of the nation's longest overall winning streaks at 22 matches that season.
PROTECTING THE HYTCHE CENTER The Hawks are 23-1 in their last 24 games inside the friendly confones of the William P. Hytche Athletic Center. UMES lost to Sacred Heart in its home opener last season to mark head coach Don Metil's first home loss at UMES. The Hawks open their 2010 home slate on Oct. 1 against North Carolina Central in the UMES Hawk Invitational.
CHUKWURKA LED MEAC, 8TH IN NCAA IN HITTING Redshirt senior middle blocker Samanatha Chukwura led the MEAC with a .397 hitting percentage, finishing eighth in the country. The 5-foot-9 Brooklyn, N.Y., native tallied 186 kills and just 47 errors in 350 total attacks.
LEADING THE MEAC UMES leads the MEAC in five statistical categories after the fourth week of the season. As a team, the Hawks lead the conference in hitting percentage (.194), while freshman Maline Vaitai and junior Zoe Bowens are both tops in kills per set (3.09) while Vaitai leads in points per game (3.73) and service aces per game (0.39) Kaveingna Lea'Aetoa leads the league with a hitting percentage of .263.
QUEENS OF THE MEAC Kaveingna Lea'Aetoa leads all MEAC freshman in hitting percentage (.263) while Stephanie Sierra leads sophomores in assists (8.13). Maline Vaitai is tops among freshman in kills (3.09), aces (0.39) and points (3.73). Zoe Bowens leads juniors in kills (3.09) and points (3.73) while Rebecca Prado is also tops among juniors in aces per game at 0.31.
UMES PICKED TO WIN MEAC NORTH AGAIN On July 21, UMES was chosen to win the MEAC Northern Division for the third straight time since the conference began divisional play in 2008. The Hawks garnered 20 of 22 first-place votes and 258 total points in the preseason poll, voted on by conference head coaches and sports information directors. Florida A&M was tabbed to win the south again with 18 first-place votes and 251 points.
HAWKS GET THREE ON PRESEASON ALL-MEAC TEAM Redshirt senior middle blocker Samantha Chukwura, junior outside hitter Christine Edwards and sophomore setter Bella Jade Romero were named to the 2010 Preseason All-MEAC Volleyball Team prior to the season. UMES was the only school in the conference to have three players named to the team. Edwards and Romero also earned Second Team All-MEAC and MEAC Rookie of the Year honors in 2009, respectively, but were dismissed from the team in preseason workouts for disciplinary reasons.
METIL EARNS SECOND MEAC COACH OF YEAR HONOR Hawks' fourth-year head coach Don Metil was named MEAC Coach of Year for the second time in his time at UMES at the end of last season. Metil, who also coached for two years at conference rival Coppin State prior to coming to Princess Anne, Md., holds a 73- 23 (.760) mark. Metil has also yet to lose a conference match in his tenure, going 30-0.
