Final Stats

PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - Seeking their first victory in over two weeks, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore faced off against Hampton, perhaps the most fearsome Northern Division contender in the MEAC. In the end, the Lady Pirates lived up to their billing by defeating the Hawks in straight sets during a Sunday matinee at the William P. Hytche Athletic Center.

Serving as libero for the first time this season, sophomore Precious Manu (Carson, Calif.) tied with junior Ashley Smith (Huntley, Ill.) for the most digs with eight. Smith finished second in kills with six, behind freshman Kristin Fink (Tucson, Ariz.) who led the Hawks with nine. Sophomore Haley Robinson (Honolulu, Hawaii) delivered four blocks in the defeat while freshman Alana Polk (Houston, Tex.) fired home two of the team's three aces.

All three sets saw the Lady Pirates storm out to an early lead before the Hawks would attempt a comeback until Hampton got to the necessary 25 points to win. Both the second and third sets were played tighter than the first but UMES never held a lead beyond the first five points in any given set.

At the start of the match, however, sophomore Sonia Rosales (Victorville, Calif.) delivered two serves that resulted in Hampton attack errors as the Hawks built a quick 2-0 lead. Then the Lady Pirates tied the match at two and after a second leveling by UMES at four, a kill by the Lady Pirates gave them the lead for good in the first set. Eventually the lead grew to nine before Hampton finally took the set, 25-18.

Hampton's second set victory did not come without a fight by the Hawks. When the Lady Pirates opened up a 7-2 lead, UMES responded with an 11-6 run to tie up the match at 13 apiece with help by Fink and Smith kills. Kept close for a while, Hampton finished the off the set with a 7-1 run to capture victory once more in a 25-18 win.

UMES did jump out to a 4-2 lead thanks to a Smith kill in set three, but after rallies by both times to tie the match up three times, Hampton took the lead with a Smith attack error to make the set 7-6 Pirates. After a Polk ace tied it again at 12, the Lady Pirates took the lead for good, using a 13-8 elongated rally to win the match with a 25-20 final score in the third set.

With the loss, the Hawks fell to 8-12 on the season and 1-4 in the MEAC while the Lady Pirates raised their record to double-digit wins, up to 10-8 and 5-0 in the MEAC. Next up for UMES will be a Friday home match starting at 6:00 p.m. when the Hawks take on the Spartans of Norfolk State.