Nov. 10, 2014 PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - Tuesday night will mark the final match of the 2014 season for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore as they host the East Carolina Pirates at 5:30p.m. in the William P. Hytche Athletic Center.
Prior to the match, the team's three seniors-Ksenia Sukhareva (Moscow, Russia), Aleksandra Manolova (Sofia, Bulgaria) and Lauren Berry (Bloomington, Ill.)-will be honored.
Each has made significant contributions over their careers. Sukhareva enters her final game in her lone season as a Hawk with a team-high 256 kills and second on the team in digs with 237. Berry has also participated in every game this season, tallying 79 kills while ranking fourth on the team with her 57 block participations, a pair of them solo. Over her UMES career she delivered 197 kills and helped on 101 blocks along with 52 digs. Manolova played in 39 games over her tenure at UMES, finishing with 58 kills and 94 digs.
The match will be the second this fall against the Pirates as the Hawks will look to even the series after a 3-0 loss in Greenville back on October 28th. East Carolina is currently 12-12 with a 4-10 mark in the American Athletic Conference. Coach Julie Torbett's squad averages 11.8 kills per set and 14 digs per set with both of those numbers higher than UMES, while the Hawks deliver more aces per set at 1.4, compared to ECU's 1.2 aces for every 25 points. UMES also puts together more blocks per set with 2.0, with the Pirates are right behind with 1.9.
For the Hawks, a victory over the Pirates will give the team 12 on the season, which would be good for a nine game improvement from the 2013 season. A win would also be the team's seventh at the Hytche Center, after winning just one home contest the year before.
Individually, most of UMES' leaders in statistics have been settled. Sophomore Allison Woods (Magnolia, Tex.) has made 276 digs, 39 more than her second place teammate. Freshman Alana Polk (Houston, Tex.) will be the lone Hawk with over 100 blocks, with 109 to date, 18 of them solo. Fellow freshman Kirstin Fink (Tucson, Ariz.) has earned 436 assists as the primary setter-nearly half of the team's total-and also leads in total aces with 28, although Sukhareva is just two aces shy of that total. In terms of kill percentage, sophomore Haley Robinson (Honolulu, Hawaii) has the edge with a 26.3% success rate, but Polk is right behind at 25.5%. Finally, while Sukhareva does lead in kills on the team, junior Ashley Smith (Huntley, Ill.) is only two behind with 254.
The game will be played as part of a doubleheader with men's basketball, who will play an exhibition against Salisbury at the conclusion of the volleyball match. Admission to the volleyball game is free, but any person who shows up after 6:30p.m. will be charged admission for the basketball contest. Fans that are unable to be with us in person can follow along via the links below:
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