Final Stats

PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - Riding the momentum of an afternoon win over Rider, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) Hawks came out strong in their evening matchup with the Binghamton Bearcats. The results mirrored their efforts as UMES came away with a three set sweep for their second straight win. Evening their record for the second time this season, the Hawks improve to 6-6 while the Bearcats fall to 1-12.

Senior Ksenia Sukhareva (Moscow, Russia) and junior Ashley Smith (Huntley, Ill.) drove the Hawks offensively with 10 kills apiece. Sukhareva also tied with sophomore Allison Woods (Magnolia, Tex.) with nine digs, while freshman Kirstin Fink (Tucson, Ariz.) delivered two aces to lead the team.

The toughest set for the Hawks proved to be the first one. The Bearcats used two big runs to pull even and force extra play. After Sukhareva's serves forced attack errors to give the Hawks a 17-11 advantage, Binghamton rallied to tie the score at 17. The Hawks drove the score back up to 23-18 with four kills by Smith and an ace by Fink, but the Bearcats used a 6-1 run to pull even again at 24. Needing two points to earn the win, the Hawks earned just that with a Smith kill and an ace by Sonia Rosales (Victorville, Calif.), finishing off the set in a 26-24 victory.

Binghamton looked to gain back momentum in the second set by racing out to a 6-1 lead. The Hawks would claw their way back with a 4-0 run assisted by two kills from sophomore Haley Robinson (Honolulu, Hawaii) and a second 4-0 run that included an ace by Fink to take the lead at 9-8. A third rally of 5-0 put the Hawks up for good as they ultimately took the set, 25-18.

Though Binghamton once again took the early lead in set three, the Hawks rallied once again behind the service of Woods. A kill by freshman Alana Polk (Houston, Tex.) further aided UMES to a 14-8 lead. The Bearcats would not get any closer than that the rest of the way as the Hawks won the third and final set by a 25-16 score.

With the victory, UMES earned its second winning streak of the season while doubling their win total from the previous year. Two more games await the Hawks tomorrow with an afternoon game versus Bethune-Cookman at noon followed by a 6:00pm game versus Campbell.