Box Score Nov. 9, 2014 Final Stats
HAMPTON, Va. - Looking for its first winning streak since October 19th, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore was thwarted by the Hampton Lady Pirates in four sets Sunday. The scores of the match were 19-25, 19-25, 25-23 and 18-25.
With the loss, the Hawks fell to 11-17 overall and completed their MEAC season with a 4-8 mark, an improvement of two wins over 2013 against MEAC foes. Hampton improved to 17-10 and picked up their tenth conference win.
In the third set, the Hawks were facing a 2-0 deficit as the Lady Pirates rolled out to a 7-1 lead to force a UMES timeout. But the Hawks would not give in so easily, rattling off a 12-6 push to tie the game at 13 apiece. When Hampton took the lead yet again, kills by freshman Kirstin Fink (Tucson, Ariz.) and Ksenia Sukhareva (Moscow, Russia) tied up the set again at 16. It would remain close the rest of the way as the Hawks and Lady Pirates each took control of the lead before UMES would finish off the set. The Hawks took advantage of a blocking error to force a set point and would use a Fink kill to win, 25-23, and pull themselves back into the match.
With UMES looking to pull off its second comeback down 2-0 on the season, kills by freshman Alana Polk (Houston, Tex.), Fink and Sukhareva gave the Hawks a 3-0 edge in set four. Unfortunately, Hampton would rally back and take a large advantage midway through before winning the set and match by the 25-18 score.
Prior to that, it was Hampton who stormed out to a 3-0 advantage and would lead wire-to-wire in the first set en route to a victory. The Hawks did pick up some momentum with a nice run during the set's final points, however, as junior Ashley Smith (Huntley, Ill.) assisted in the 7-3 stretch with two aces. The momentum helped UMES to play even during the early moments of the second set. Over the first 14 plays the Hawks managed a 7-7 tie, leveling the score on the 14th play with a kill from sophomore Haley Robinson (Honolulu, Hawaii). However, the Lady Pirates would win the next point, and although the Hawks would cut the deficit to as little as two, Hampton finished off UMES to take a 2-0 match lead.
Sukhareva earned a double-double in the defeat with 11 kills and 13 digs, as did Fink, who will take home nine kills combined with 16 assists. Sophomore Allison Woods (Magnolia, Tex.) had the most digs for the Hawks with 14, while Fink and Robinson tied for the most blocks with five each.
UMES will wrap up its 2014 season at home Tuesday evening in a non-conference matchup against the East Carolina Pirates. Three seniors, Lauren Berry (Bloomington, Ill.), Aleksandra Manolova (Sofia, Bulgaria), and Sukhareva will be honored prior to the start of the match. First serve is set for 5:30p.m. in the Hytche Center.
