Oct. 1, 2011
Final Stats | Photo Gallery 
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - The Maroon and Grey are the champions of the UMES Hawk Invitational, finishing undefeated with Saturday victories over North Carolina Central 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-17) and California State University, Bakersfield 3-1 (25-14, 25-22, 18-25, 25-22). The Hawks take three wins in the invite and improve to 9-6 on the season to conclude non-conference play.
Saitaua Iosia (Long Beach, Calif.) earned Most Valuable Player of the invitational. Teammate Maline Vaitai (Salt Lake City, Utah) was also named to the All-Tournament Team.
Starting in the afternoon against MEAC-opponent N.C. Central, the Hawks began on a 7-2 run. At 13-7 UMES, after a Ndidi Ibe (North Richland, Texas) kill, Iosia got three aces in a row to put UMES up by 10. A late Eagles run put the visitors within three at 19-16, but the Hawks pulled away with a 6-0 run, including three aces from Vaitai, to win set one 25-16.
Set two saw UMES begin strong with a 7-2 advantage, but N.C. Central tied the game at 13. The Hawks set forth on a 6-0 run and did not look back, winning 25-16.
Play went back and forth in game three, with the Eagles holding a 14-12 advantage. The Hawks countered with 9-0 run, including a pair of aces from Vaitai and two kills from Iosia, sealing the match. Raquel Rogers (Baltimore, Md.) finished the match with her first kill as a Hawk for the final point in game three to give UMES a win 25-17 to win the match in shutout fashion.
As a team, the Hawks hit .377 with 38 kills on 77 total attacks with just nine errors. Iosia finished the match with 10 kills, five aces and four digs. Vaitai got five kills with five aces and eight digs.
Emanuelle Santos led the Eagles with seven kills against UMES, while Jzima-Malaki Kalao contributed 14 assists.
Going into the last match, both UMES and CSU Bakersfield were the final undefeated teams of the tournament, vying for the invitational title.
The first game was a close contest to begin. With the Hawks up 10-9, the home team went on a quick 3-0 run with a kill and ace from Iosia, followed by another 3-0 run after a Roadrunner point. Another couple of late runs sealed the first set in favor of UMES 25-14.
The Hawks started quickly into the second set with an 8-3 lead, with a trio of kills from Iosia and one each from Vaitai and Victoria Williams (Los Angeles, Calif.). The teams traded points back and forth as UMES led 22-16. The Roadrunners went on a 5-0 run to get within one at 22-21. The Hawks won the next two points, and two points later, Jessie Vicic (Cambridge, Ontario, Canada) got a dump kill on the 10-foot line to finish the set in favor of UMES 25-22.
At 4-4 in the third game, the Hawks hit four straight kills from four different players: in order Williams, Vaitai, Iosia and Zoe Bowens (Long Beach, Calif.) to take an 8-4 lead. The Roadrunners countered with a 7-0 run. Down 13-10, UMES regained the lead starting with a couple of kills by Iosia en route to a 4-0 run. But the Roadrunners regained the advantage off a 5-0 run and did not relinquish the lead again, taking set three 25-18.
With the set loss, the 53-set winning streak at home dating back to September 26, 2009, for UMES came to a close.
The fourth set began with CSUB having the early 7-4 advantage. Team captain Bowens took control, leading the Hawks on a 7-0 run, including four service aces, to push the Hawks to an 11-7 lead. Vaitai contributed two kills on the run. The two sides traded possessions, and at 15-12 UMES, the home team took six of the next eight points to go up 21-14. The Roadrunners followed with a 4-0 run, but the Hawks prevailed 25-22 to win the match 3-1 and take the UMES Hawk Invitational championship.
The win increased UMES's home winning streak to 18 matches. The Hawks have not lost a home match in over two years.
Against the Roadrunners, Iosia notched 25 kills, more than half the team's total, falling just short of a double-double with nine digs. Vaitai got eight kills with six digs, with Ibe getting four kills, three digs and four total blocks.
CSUB's Haleigh Haratyk had a double-double with 22 kills and 10 digs, with teammate Brittany Hopley finishing with 12 kills.
Over the three matches, Tournament MVP Iosia finished with 46 kills, eight service aces, 16 digs and seven total blocks. Vaitai finished with 21 kills, 18 digs and six aces.
To start Saturday, Hampton defeated Alabama State in three sets. CSU Bakersfield defeated Hampton 3-1 followed by Alabama State shutting out N.C. Central.
CSU Bakersfield took second place with a 3-1 finish. Hampton concluded at 2-1 for third, followed by Alabama State in fourth at 1-3 and N.C. Central in fifth at 0-4.
The Hawks will begin MEAC play on Tuesday, October 4th as they host Delaware State at 7:00 p.m. in the Hytche Athletic Center.
UMES Hawk Invitational All-Tournament Team
Saitaua Iosia, UMES (MVP)
Maline Vaitai, UMES
Haleigh Haratyk, CSUB
Lauren Holderman, CSUB
Krista Kraskura, Hampton
Maya Bell, Alabama State
Emanuelle Santos, N.C. Central
