Sept. 22, 2011
UMES Game Notes- High Point Invitational
HAWKS SET FOR PAIR OF MATCHES AT HIGH POINT
UMES will head to North Carolina to compete in the High Point Invitational for two matches on Saturday. The Hawks will face Campbell in the morning followed by High Point for the evening match. MEAC rival Norfolk State will also be attendance to face each the same opponents. This is the final invitational that UMES will travel to this season.
IOSIA MEAC'S TOP ROOKIE THIRD WEEK STRAIGHT
After earning a place on the Brown Invitational All-Tournament Team, Saitaua Iosia was once again named MEAC Rookie of the Week. The freshman outside hitter joined the 30-kill club against Bryant plus five aces, eight digs and four blocks. She earned a pair of double-doubles on Saturday, combining for 59 kills and 30 digs on the weekend.
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. Iosia had two double-doubles during the weekend while Lea'Aetoa combined for 38 kills, 10 total blocks and 14 digs.
HAWKS FLYING HIGH ATOP THE MEAC
UMES leads the MEAC in five major categories: hitting percentage (.201), opponent's hitting percentage (.185), assists per set (11.32), kills per set (12.12) and blocks per set (2.24). The Hawks also rank fourth in the conference in digs per set (12.63) and aces per set (1.41).
VICIC LEADS MEAC 30-ASSIST CLUB
Freshman setter Jessie Vicic is atop the 30-assists club of the MEAC, getting above that mark in eight of UMES's matches. No other setter in the conference has had more than five 30-assist matches. Her highest total this season came against Bryant in the Brown Invitational, notching 51 assists in the five-set road victory. She also in first in the conference in assists per set at 9.98, totaling 409 in 41 sets.
BUZZ-"SA"
Saitaua Iosia, who has led the Hawks in kills in all but one match this season, ranks second in the MEAC in kills per set at 4.00, points per set at 4.71 and fourth in aces per set at 0.39, leading all underclassmen in the first two categories. In ten matches this year, Iosia has recorded seven double-doubles, with two coming this past weekend in the Brown Invitational.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN......
UMES stands as the only team in the MEAC with a perfect record on the road. The Hawks are 3-0 after victories over South Florida in Tampa on September 3rd, Bryant in Smithfield on September 9th and Brown in Providence on September 17th. Against South Florida and Brown, the Hawks fell in the first two sets and came back to win 3-2 in each match.
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 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.
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.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS:
UMES will begin the High Point Invitational with Campbell, currently standing at 5-9 on the season, including a perfect 4-0 against teams from the MEAC. The Camels are coming off the Elon Tournament where they went 1-1 with a loss to the tournament host and a win over North Carolina Central. Campbell is led by junior outside hitter Jordan Reaves, who leads the team with 113 kills with 111 digs. Senior middle blocker Annie Kobeski holds the team lead in blocks with 41, adding 62 kills.
High Point is currently 2-10 going into Friday. The Panthers picked up their second win of the season last weekend with a shutout win over Charlotte at the Black and Gold Challenge before a defeat to Wake Forest. Junior outside hitter Courtney Johnk leads the Panthers in kills with 107 and aces with seven. Senior libero Breanna Holliday has recorded 285 digs with five aces.
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.
UMES TAKES FOURTH PLACE IN USF INVITATIONAL
Competing in their first tournament of the season after the cancelation of the Tiny Laster Invitational, the Hawks took fourth place in the USF Invitational in Tampa, Florida with a 1-3 record. After falling to Bethune-Cookman 3-1, UMES rallied back from down two sets to defeat tournament host South Florida 3-2. UMES battled Bowling Green but fell 3-2 and lost to Eastern Kentucky 3-0.
BOWENS FINISHES #1 IN DIVISION I IN ACES PER SET
Zoe Bowens led all of Division I in aces per set last season with 0.67, totaling 79 in 118 sets, standing as the top season rate in the NCAA during the 25-point format period. Her 79 aces ranks second highest in a season during the same period. Bowens finished the year with at least four aces in ten different matches, including a season high against Coppin State, hitting seven aces on October 17, 2010.
UMES #1 TEAM IN DIVISION I IN ACES PER SET IN 2010
With Zoe Bowens leading the way with 0.67 aces per set, the Hawks led all of Division I in aces per set for the third time in four years, averaging 2.04 a set, finishing with 246 in 118 sets. Along with Bowens, Maline Vaitai and Kaveigna Lea'Aetoa each finished in the top-125 individually in aces per set. Vaitai hit 44 aces in 118 sets for 0.37 a set, 51st in Division I, while Lea'Aetoa landed 38 aces in the same number of sets to average 0.32 a game, 119th overall. In addition, Rebecca Prado and Stephanie Sierra each contibuted 32 service aces last season. UMES earned this same honor in 2007 and 2009.
METIL APPROACHING 100 AND 200 WINS
Don Metil is approaching two different milestones this season. He is two victories away from reaching 100 with UMES, currently standing at 98 during his fifth season. He is also 17 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 8TH LONGEST ACTIVE HOME WINNING STREAK
Winning their last 15 matches in Princess Anne, the Hawks have the 8th 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. During this win streak, UMES has gone a perfect 45-0 in sets in Princess Anne. In addition, this streak marks the longest in the MEAC. Currently Cincinatti leads the country with 40 straight wins at home.
Team Current Home Win Streak (as of 9/22)
1- Cincinatti 40
2- Central Arkansas 30
3- Nebraska 27
4- Sacred Heart 20
4- Texas 20
6- Ball State 17
6- San Diego 17
8- UMES 15
9- California 13
9- Liberty 13
11- Purdue 12
11- Stanford 12
13- Louisville 11
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.
HIGH POINT INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE FOR 9/24
UMES v. Campbell 11:30 a.m.
Norfolk State @ High Point 1:30 p.m.
Campbell v. Norfolk State 4:30 p.m.
UMES @ High Point 7:00 p.m.
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.
