Sept. 8, 2011
UMES Game Notes- Bryant Invitational | Bryant Invitational Home Page
HAWKS FLY TO RHODE ISLAND FOR BRYANT INVITE
UMES will compete in their second tournament this season as they head north to Smithfield, Rhode Island for the Bryant Invitational at the Chace Athletic Center. The Hawks will compete in three matches over two days, starting with tournament host Bryant on Friday followed by Holy Cross and Harvard on Saturday. This is the first of two invitationals UMES will play in Rhode Island, with the Brown University Invit. coming next weekend.
IOSIA NAMED MEAC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
With 55 kills and 39 digs in four matches of the USF Invitational, freshman outside hitter Saitaua Iosia earned MEAC Rookie of the Week for the period ending September 4th. She had a double-double in her first two matches as a Hawk with 15 kills and 11 digs against Bethune-Cookman followed by 13 kills and 11 digs in the victory over South Florida. Her performance earned her a spot on 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'
With the newest Hawks recruiting class, UMES boasts three outside hitters from the state of California. Senior Zoe Bowens and freshman Saitaua Iosia each went to Long Beach Poly High School, plus freshman Victoria Williams comes to UMES from Los Angeles.
GLOBETROTTER
The Hawks roster includes players from four different countries on three different continents. In addition to the players from the United States, freshman Jessie Vicic hails from Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. Returner Jingqiao Li comes from Beijing, China, while freshman Nadja Nemeth calls Bettlach, Switzerland home. Since the 2005-06 season, UMES volleyball has also had players from Barbados, France, Israel, Serbia and Sweden.
TOWERING ABOVE THE COMPETITION
Last season's roster player averaged a height of 69.3 inches (just over 5-9), with the tallest player being Maline Vaitai at 6-0, the lone six foot tall player that year. This year the average height of a UMES volleyball player is 70.9 inches (just under 5-11) with four players at least six feet tall joining the team to total five with Vaitai, including 6-3 Corey Haynes and 6-3 Victoria Williams.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS:
Tournament host Bryant comes in with a 2-4 record having picked up a win in each the West Point Invitational and the Denver Invitational. The Bulldogs have played at least four sets against all unranked opponents and are coming off a 3-0 loss to #13 Purdue, their first ever match against a Division I ranked opponent. The team is led by senior outside hitter Jazmin Stoner, getting 66 kills and 55 digs. Senior middle blocker Maria Scocca leads the Bulldogs with 22 total blocks along with 49 kills on a .246 hitting percentage.
Holy Cross stands at 3-3 after taking two of three in the Beanpot Classic and a win over MEAC school Howard. This will be their third straight tournament in New England, with the previous two in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Over 55% of the Crusaders' kills comes from two players: Junior outside hitter Megan Lynch, who leads the team with 82 kills, adding nine aces and 64 digs, and senior middle Kathleen Colpoys, who totals 48 kills, nine aces and 21 total blocks.
Harvard started their season last weekend at the Georgia State Invitational, going 2-1, including winning the first two sets in all three matches. The Crimson sport eight players from the state of California, including their leading scorer, junior outside hitter Taylor Docter from Los Altos, who has 43 kills and three aces on the season. Sandra Lynne Fryhofer, a 2nd-Team All-Ivy player last season, leads the Crimson in blocks with 21, adding 16 kills.
METIL APPROACHING 100 AND 200 WINS
Don Metil is approaching two different milestones this season. He is six victories away from reaching 100 with UMES, currently standing at 94. He is also 21 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 15 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. 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 39 straight wins at home.
Team Current Home Win Streak (as of 9/8)
1- Cincinatti 39
2- Central Arkansas 30
3- Nebraska 22
4- Sacred Heart 20
5- Texas 17
5- Ball State 17
7- UMES 15
8- Duke 14
9- 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. Each broadcast will begin with the GEICO Pregame Show 10 minutes before the first serve.
BRYANT INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE
Friday, September 9th
UMES @ Bryant 4:00 p.m.
Harvard v. Holy Cross 6:00 p.m.
Harvard @ Bryant 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, September 10th
UMES v. Holy Cross 10:00 a.m.
UMES vs. Harvard 5:00 p.m.
Holy Cross @ Bryant 7:00 p.m.
OFF ON THE ROAD TO RHODE ISLAND
UMES will be playing in Rhode Island the weekend following the Bryant Invitational to compete in the Brown University Invitational in the capital of Providence. The Hawks will have a rematch with Bryant followed by matches against tournament host Brown plus Fordham. Last season, UMES competed in the Art Carmichael Invitational in Kingston, Rhode Island. The Hawks took two of three matches, including wins over Marist and New Hampshire, only falling to host Rhode Island.
