Oct. 3, 2011
Game Notes - UMES vs. Delaware State
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The Hawks will start their MEAC slate this week with a trio of matches, beginning with a home matchup against rival Delaware State on Tuesday, followed by a pair of matches in Baltimore with Coppin State on Friday and Morgan State on Sunday. UMES will enter conference play as the four-time defending MEAC Northern Division champion and a 38-2 record in regular season matches during Don Metil's tenure. This season, with the addition of Norfolk State to the division, all MEAC North teams will play 12 conference matches, instead of 10.
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.
IOSIA EARNS MEAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After being named the conference's best rookie four times in a row, Saitaua Iosia was hailed as the MEAC Volleyball Player of the Week. Iosia was named the UMES Hawk Invitational Most Valuable Player combining for 46 kills on a hitting percentage of .430 with eight service aces, seven blocks and 16 digs during the weekend.
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 102-38 record. He is also 13 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 7TH LONGEST ACTIVE HOME WINNING STREAK
Winning their last 18 matches in Princess Anne, the Hawks have the 7th 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 last match against CSU Bakersfield, UMES's 53-set winning streak at home ended.
Team Current Home Win Streak (as of 9/28)
1- Cincinatti 42
2- Central Arkansas 30
3- Nebraska 28
4- Texas 21
5- Ball State 20
6- San Diego 19
7- UMES 18
8- Liberty 15
9- California 15
HAWKS FLYING HIGH ATOP THE MEAC
UMES leads the MEAC in six major categories: hitting percentage (.199), opponent's hitting percentage (.182), assists per set (11.56), kills per set (12.42) and blocks per set (2.13) and digs per set (13.40).
BUZZ-"SA"
Saitaua Iosia, who has led the Hawks in kills in all but one match this season, ranks first in the MEAC in points per set at 4.83, 25th in the country in that category, second in kills per set at 4.10 and aces per set at 0.43, leading all conference underclassmen in those categories. In 15 matches this year, Iosia has recorded eight 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 12 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 10.38, totaling 623 in 60 sets, and is the only player in the MEAC that averages double digit in that category.
20-DIG CLUB
UMES has two members of the 20-dig club. Rebecca Prado, the Hawks libero for all matches this year, has had over 20 digs three times this year, joining the group with 26 digs in their first victory with Bryant, followed by 21 vs. Holy Cross and 23 in the win over High Point. Saitaua Iosia earned a place after getting 26 digs along with 15 kills against Campbell.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:
UMES will face their arch-rival up Route 13, the Delaware State Hornets. Last season the two squads split the series with each getting the victory at home, UMES winning in three sets and Delaware State in five. The last match the two teams played, the Hornets ended UMES's 36-match winning streak in MEAC play, the longest conference winning streak in the NCAA at the time.
Delaware State stands at 2-11 on the season, with a five set win over Howard putting the Hornets at 1-0 in conference play. The team is led by sophomore Jessica Russell-Croucher, an outside hitter who leads the Hornets with 128 kills and 17 service aces. The Hornets have one of the top defensive players in the MEAC, senior libero Sonja Banicevic, who is #1 in the conference in digs per set with 4.14, totaling 182, also adding nine aces.
HAWKS SPLIT AT HIGH POINT INVITATIONAL
After falling to Campbell in five sets in the morning, the Hawks regrouped and defeated tournament host High Point 3-1 to split on the day. The team goes to 6-6 to stay at .500 on the season. Maline Vaitai combined for 32 kills and 19 digs, including five aces against High Point. Victoria Williams earned 18 kills with only two errors on 31 total attacks for an attack % of .516.
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, each of the Rhode Island schools, 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.
100 ACES
UMES has earned 100 aces this season and has two players in the top-75 in the country in aces per set. Saitaua Iosia ranks 40th in the NCAA with 0.43 aces a game, totaling 26, while Maline Vaitai stands at 75th with 0.38 a set, with 23 on the season. Zoe Bowens, the 2010 NCAA leader in aces per set, has 18 aces for 0.31 a game, 210th in the country. As a team, the Hawks rank 21st in the country in this category, averaging 1.67 a set.
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. UMES was last represented on a COBRA All-National Team in 2009 when Whitney Johnson received second team honors.
Maline 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.
2010 IN REVIEW
With a roster of just nine players, the Hawks went 20-12 and 8-2 in the MEAC to secure their fourth straight MEAC Northern Division title and 20-win season. After a 1-7 start, UMES went on a 16-2 run, including a streak of 11-straight three set victories and an 8-0 run at home. The Hawks earned a 1-seed in the MEAC Tournament and defeated Bethune-Cookman 3-1 before a defeat to eventual conference champion South Carolina State 3-1 in the semifinals. Maline Vaitai earned MEAC Rookie of the Year and First Team All-MEAC while Samantha Chukwura, Kaveinga Lea'Aetoa and Stephanie Sierra earned Second Team All-MEAC.
