Final Stats

BALTIMORE, Md. - Looking to keep their MEAC tournament hopes alive, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore volleyball squad headed to Baltimore for a matinee bout with the Coppin State Eagles. After UMES clinched the third set and were just points away from victory in the fourth set, Coppin pulled off a furious comeback to win set four and overwhelmed the Hawks in set five to claim victory. UMES falls to 10-16 and 3-7 in conference while Coppin State improved to 13-11 and 7-4 in the MEAC.

A back and forth affair through the halfway mark of set one, both teams went on runs in the attempt to go ahead in the match. UMES would take the lead first, opening a 16-13 advantage. But the Eagles would storm back, rallying first to tie and then to win. Coppin used a bevy of blocks over the final few points to take the set by a 25-20 score.

The Hawks stormed out to take the lead in set two, pushing the advantage to as high as seven. However Coppin would once again climb back in the set to even up the match at 16 all. Trading off again over the next few points, UMES would take a 22-20 edge thanks to a kill by sophomore Haley Robinson (Honolulu, Hawaii). After that the Hawks would allow only one point to the Eagles as a tip by senior Lauren Berry (Bloomington, Ill.) landed on Coppin's end of the court to give UMES a 25-21 decision to even the match. In the set the Hawks earned a 28.9 killing percentage with just four attack errors.

It would be UMES who would have to make a furious comeback in the third set as Coppin gained the upper hand, 6-2, to force a timeout from Toby Rens. Closing the gap little by little, UMES would tie the score and 17 and would knot the set again thanks to an ace from Allison Woods (Magnolia, Tex.). When Coppin rattled off three straight points to take the advantage once again, the Hawks remained undeterred, forcing two Eagle errors to take a 24-23 lead. A Coppin block would force extra time in the set, but an ace by freshman Kirstin Fink (Tucson, Ariz.) and a kill by Robinson would give UMES the set, 29-27, and a two set to one match lead.

Riding the momentum of their set three win the Hawks took the lead early and held out to it thru the midway point of set four. Coppin would roll back the deficit to two at 14-12 forcing another UMES timeout. With the Hawks closing on victory and with the Eagles backs against the wall, Coppin stormed back to capture the set by a 25-21 final.

In the deciding set, junior Ashley Smith (Huntley, Ill.) started it off with a kill to give the first point to UMES. However Coppin would put together an 11-1 run to complete the comeback and win the match, three sets to two.

Fink tallied her second straight double-double in the loss with 15 kills and 25 assists. Sophomore Precious Manu (Carson, Calif.) led UMES in digs with 19, while freshman Alana Polk (Houston, Tex.) led in attacking percentage, at 35%. Ariel Richard had a game high 22 kills for the Eagles, and libero Gabrielle Otero polished off 25 digs.