Box Score Oct. 19, 2014 Final Stats
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - Following a decisive victory this past Friday to snap a four losing streak, the Hawks of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore wanted to ride the momentum in order to climb back towards the middle of the pack in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's (MEAC) Northern Division. In just three steps UMES successfully did just that all while earning a season sweep of the Hornets in a three set win Sunday at the William P. Hytche Athletic Center.
With the victory the Hawks improved their record to 10-12 overall and a of 3-4 conference record. MEAC rival Coppin State earned a win over Morgan State today which gives both teams a 4-3 record in the conference, one game ahead of the Hawks. Furthermore for UMES, their third conference win eclipses last year's record when the Hawks went 2-10 in conference. Delaware State drops their overall record to 1-16 and 1-5 in the MEAC.
Unlike the first meeting in September when the Hawks had to come back from a 2-0 set deficit to claim victory, UMES took control of the match in set one. Tied midway through, both teams fought hard for the rest of the set in the effort to win. Late in the match it appeared as though the Hornets would finish on top when they took a 23-22 lead. However a kill by sophomore Haley Robinson (Honolulu, Hawaii) tied the set for the thirteenth time at 23 and handled the ball to fellow sophomore Sonia Rosales (Victorville, Calif.) who took charge of the serve. A subsequent block from Robinson and freshman Kirstin Fink (Tucson, Ariz.) gave the Hawks the edge, and with a Hornets attack error UMES sealed the set with a 25-23 score.
Four kills by senior Ksenia Sukhareva (Moscow, Russia) midway through set two gave the Hawks an 18-13 lead and seemed to secure an easy two set victory. But the Hornets would come back using three blocks and a kill to pull within one and force UMES to burn both its timeouts. Following the second timeout, a kill from Sukhareva and a block by Sukhareva and Robinson gave the Hawks a 2-0 match lead with a 25-22 set win.
Delaware State stormed out to a 6-2 lead before committing a service error to give the ball back to UMES. With freshman Alana Polk (Houston, Tex.) serving, five straight kills for the Hawks gave the home team the lead, with three attacks credited to senior Lauren Berry (Bloomington, Ill.). The burst of energy was exactly what was needed for the Hawks who never relinquished the lead again. With a 25-17 win in set three, UMES clinched its second straight victory.
Thanks to her outburst in set two, Sukhareva led the Hawks in kills with 11, while Robinson finished with a .455 attack percentage to lead the team. Fink delivered three of the team's eight aces, the most as a team since the match against Rider on September 19th. The freshman from Tucson also led the Hawks defensively with nine digs, followed by Sukhareva's eight. Robinson participated in four blocks for a game high. UMES' attack percentage of .315 collectively was the highest in a match all season long.
Jasmine Jackson of Delaware State drove home 13 kills for a game high, and libero Ayana Lee registered 12 digs, also a game high.
UMES will attempt to end their six-game home stand at 3-3 with a of top flight MEAC challenger defeat Howard. First serve is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Friday in the Hytche Center.
