Sept. 2, 2011
Final Stats | Photo Gallery 
TAMPA, Fla. -- In a very competitive match with a MEAC rival, UMES fell to Bethune-Cookman 3-1 (24-26, 25-21, 21-25, 20-25) in the first day of the USF Invitational. The Hawks fall to 0-1 to start the season while the Wildcats improve to 2-1.
In the first set, UMES came back from down 3-0 early to go up 7-5. The Hawks built up a six point lead, being up 24-18 with set point. But the Wildcats came back with an 8-0 run off the serving of Frances Rodriguez to win 26-24 in the first game.
The Hawks came back to take the second set. After a back-and-forth affair, the score was tied at 21. With a couple of kills from freshman Saitaua Iosia (Long Beach, Calif.) and a block from sophomore Maline Vaitai (Salt Lake City, Utah), UMES finished the set with a 4-0 run to win 25-21 and even the match.
In a tough third set, the Wildcats pulled ahead to win with some key kills towards the final points to win 25-21.
UMES made a strong comeback in the final game, being down 21-13 and getting to within three, but the Wildcats finished out the Hawks 25-20 to take the match.
Iosia finished with 15 kills and 11 digs for a double-double in her first UMES match, adding a pair of aces. Vaitai had 14 kills on the day, while Kaveinga Lea'Aetoa (Salt Lake City, Utah) got nine.
For Bethune-Cookman, Janeen Davis recorded 19 kills and 13 digs, while Krysta Gardner got 15 kills with three aces and five digs.
The Hawks will play two matches tomorrow on the second day of the USF Invitational, starting with host South Florida at 11 a.m. followed by Bowling Green at 2 p.m.
