Oct. 13, 2011
UMES Game Notes- UMES @ Hampton, Norfolk State
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The Hawks remain on the road to continue their conference schedule with two matches in Virginia, starting with Hampton at 6:00 p.m. on Friday and Norfolk State on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. The winner of UMES v. Hampton match will take sole possession of first place in the MEAC North. UMES has never lost to either school during Don Metil's tenure. In addition, Metil stands at 24-0 as a head coach with UMES and Coppin State against these two schools.
HAWKS TAKE TWO MEAC MATCHES IN BALTIMORE
UMES stayed perfect on the road with a pair of conference wins on the road against Coppin State in four sets and Morgan State 3-0. Including the Hawks win over Delaware State on Tuesday, UMES outscored their opponents last week 246-145. Both Saitaua Iosia and Maline Vaitai earned double digit kills in each match.
IOSIA EARNS MEAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK AGAIN
For the second straight week, Saitaua Iosia has been named the MEAC Volleyball Player of the Week. Iosia had double digit kills in all three matches, hitting .453 with a combined 36 kills with just seven errors on 64 total attacks. She got her ninth double-double of the season against Coppin State with 13 kills and 13 digs. Along with her four Rookie of the Week awards, Iosia has gotten a MEAC weekly distinction six times in a row.
HAWKS FLYING HIGH ATOP THE MEAC
UMES leads the MEAC in five major categories: hitting percentage (.231), opponent's hitting percentage (.162), assists per set (11.47), kills per set (12.46) and blocks per set (2.21). The Hawks also stand at second in the MEAC in aces per set at 1.71.
PRADO THREE DIGS AWAY FROM 1000
Rebecca Prado is just three digs away from 1,000 in her career. This season, the senior, who has started at libero for UMES every match this season, has gotten 252 digs, with fourth best in the MEAC at 3.60 digs a set. Prado has compiled 678 digs in a Hawks uniform in addition to the 319 she had at Wagner College in 2008. Prado has also gotten the most 20-dig matches in the MEAC, totaling four on the season.
BUZZ-"SA"
Saitaua Iosia, who has led the Hawks in kills in 15 matches this season, ranks second in the MEAC in points per set at 4.77, 27th in the country in that category, third in kills per set at 4.03 and aces per set at 0.44, leading all conference underclassmen in those categories. In 18 matches this year, Iosia has recorded nine double-doubles.
IOSIA MEMBER OF 30-KILL CLUB
In UMES's five-set victory over Bryant during the Brown Invitational, Saitaua Iosia notched 30 kills, the highest number of kills for a MEAC player in a single match this season, with just five errors for a hitting percentage of .424. Iosia has achieved the four highest kill totals for the Hawks this season, with 25 vs. CSU Bakersfield, 23 at Bryant and 21 at High Point.
VICIC LEADS MEAC 30-ASSIST CLUB
Freshman setter Jessie Vicic is atop the 30-assists club of the MEAC, getting above that mark in 15 matches. Her highest total came against Campbell in the High Point Invitational, notching 56 assists in five sets. She is first in the conference in assists per set at 10.40, totaling 728 in 70 sets, and is the only player in the MEAC that averages double digits in that category.
CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'
UMES has three players from California on the roster this season, all getting at least 75 kills so far this year. Freshman outside hitter Saitaua Iosia from Long Beach leads the team with 282 kills and has played in every point this year. Zoe Bowens, a senior outside hitter and former teammate of Iosia at Long Beach Poly High School, serves as team captain for the second straight year and has 76 kills with 21 aces. Finally, freshman Victoria Williams from Los Angeles has played in all 18 matches with three starts, getting 85 kills with a .245 hitting percentage and 31 blocks.
HAWKS SOARING PAST PRINCESS ANNE
Former Hawks Whitney Johnson and Caylin Woodward are currently playing professional volleyball in Europe. Johnson, former MEAC Player of the Year, is in Sweden playing for Gislaved V.K. for her second season. Woodward, who previously played for Gislaved V.K., is now playing in Italy with Reggio Calabria S.S.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS:
Hampton stands with UMES at the top of the MEAC North at 3-0 in the conference and 8-8 overall. This will be the first meeting of the season after the Tiny Laster Invite was cancelled due to Hurricane Irene. Hampton is led by freshman outside hitter Krista Kraskura, leading the Lady Pirates with 119 kills plus 123 digs. Senior outside hitter Mianna Armstrong has 105 kills and 132 digs, second on the team in each category.
Norfolk State, the newest member of the MEAC North, goes into the weekend at 1-2 in conference and 5-10 overall, including a win over Coppin State and losses to Howard and Hampton. The Lady Spartans are led up front by junior middle blocker Charlotte Armstead, the team leader in kills with 161 and blocks with 38. Junior outside hitter Beatriz Ferreira is second in kills with 144, adding 28 blocks.
UMES HAWK INVITATIONAL CHAMPIONS
The Maroon and Grey finished non-conference play in strong fashion with three victories at home over Alabama State, North Carolina Central and CSU Bakersfield to win the UMES Hawk Invitational with a combined set score of 9-1. Saitaua Iosia was named the invitational MVP while Maline Vaitai earned a place on the All-Tournament Team.
UMES WINS BROWN INVITATIONAL CO-CHAMPIONSHIP
For the second straight weekend, the Hawks were co-champions in a tournament in Rhode Island, taking a share of the title of the Brown Invitational with Brown after going 2-1. UMES defeated Bryant in a rematch and tournament host Brown in five sets while falling to Fordham 3-1. Saitaua Iosia and Kaveinga Lea'Aetoa were named to the All-Tournament Team.
UMES NAMED BRYANT INVITATIONAL CO-CHAMPION
The Hawks were named co-champion of the Bryant Invitational, going 2-1 over two days, sharing the title with defeated opponent Harvard. UMES came back from falling in the first set to defeat Bryant 3-1 to open on Friday. After a defeat against Holy Cross 3-0, the Hawks earned their first shutout victory of the season over the Crimson 3-0. Outside hitters Saitaua Iosia and Maline Vaitai were named to the All-Tournament Team.
PERFECT NON-CONFERENCE ROAD RECORD
The Hawks finished their non-conference slate with a unblemished 4-0 record over tournament hosts, defeating South Florida, Bryant, Brown and High Point. UMES's wins over South Florida and Brown were each comeback victories after the Hawks fell in the first two sets. Currently UMES is the only MEAC team that is perfect in road matches at 6-0 in 2011.
120 ACES
UMES has earned 120 aces this season and has two players in the top-125 in the country in aces per set after last weekend. Going into their match with Morgan State, Saitaua Iosia ranked 25th in the NCAA with 0.46 aces a game, totaling 31, while Maline Vaitai stood at 109th with 0.36 a set, with 24 on the season. Zoe Bowens, the 2010 NCAA leader in aces per set, has 21 aces for 0.31 a game, 204th in the country.
METIL EARNS 100TH WIN WITH THE HAWKS
Don Metil won his 100th match at UMES on September 30th with a shutout victory over Alabama State. With the Hawks, Metil sports a 105-38 record. He is also 10 wins from reaching 200 as a head coach dating back to 2002, including stops at Notre Dame (MD), Lees-McRae and Coppin State. Metil's first win in Division I came at Coppin State against UMES 3-2 on Sept. 25, 2005, while his first UMES win came against Coppin State 3-0 on Aug. 24, 2007.
UMES 6TH LONGEST ACTIVE HOME WINNING STREAK
Winning their last 19 matches in Princess Anne, the Hawks have the 6th longest home winning streak in the NCAA. Their last loss in the Hytche Athletic Center came on Sept. 26, 2009 with a 3-0 defeat from Sacred Heart. In addition, this streak marks the longest in the MEAC. In their match against CSU Bakersfield on October 1st, UMES's 53-set winning streak at home ended.
Team Current Home Win Streak (as of 10/13)
1- Cincinatti 42
2- Nebraska 28
3- Texas 23
4- San Diego 21
5- Ball State 20
6- UMES 19
7- California 15
UMES MATCHES TO AIR ON WGOP
WGOP 540 AM and 100.7 FM is now the flagship station of Hawks volleyball and will air all matches live on the radio this year. Dave Vatz returns for his second season with UMES and will provide play-by-play for each match. Fans can listen online on umeshawks.com.
UMES PICKED TO FINISH 1ST IN MEAC NORTH
The Hawks were chosen to finish first in the MEAC Northern Division, receiving 21 of 26 first-place votes. UMES is currently the four-time defending MEAC North champion. Delaware State was picked to finished second to UMES, while Florida A&M is picked to finish first in the Southern Division over defending MEAC champion South Carolina State.
VAITAI NAMED COBRA ALL-PRESEASON THIRD TEAM
In their annual August preseason issue, COBRA Magazine named Maline Vaitai to the All-Preseason Third Team, being the only MEAC player to receive this honor. Last season, Vaitai along with Zoe Bowens and Samantha Chukwura received All-National Honorable Mention as well as All-East Region Team.
VAITAI NAMED MEAC PRESEASON POY
Sophomore outside hitter Maline Vaitai was named MEAC Preseason Player of the Year by the conference in August. Last season she earned MEAC Rookie of the Year after leading the conference in kills with 407, kills per set at 3.45, points with 476.5 and points per set at 4.04. In addition, senior outside hitter Zoe Bowens was also named to the MEAC Preseason Team with 350 kills and 79 aces in 2010.
