Final Stats

CEDAR CITY, UTAH - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore volleyball team put together an offensive clinic on Friday afternoon as they raced out to an early lead and never looked back en route to a 3-0 victory over Savannah State University. The win gives UMES a 1-1 record in the SUU Tournament as the Hawks continue their decade long win streak over Savannah State.

The Hawks played fantastic from beginning to finish in the match. It was the second set where UMES (2-4) really made its presence known though, as the Hawks held SSU to just eight points. The total was the lowest set score by an opponent against UMES in nearly two years, a span dating 50 games back to October 5, 2012 when the Hawks defeated Coppin State 25-7. UMES hit a season-high .247 in the match as they controlled the tempo throughout.

It was the Kirstin Fink (Tucson, Ariz.) show in the first set for UMES. The rookie put together her best frame of the season after she had four kills, four assists and three digs. The Hawks held an 11-3 advantage in kills and posted a hitting percentage of .333.

The Hawks never trailed in the opening frame and broke open a close match early. Up 7-6, the Hawks scored seven of the games next eight points to take a substantial lead. A service ace by junior Ashley Smith (Huntley, Ill.) and a kill by senior Ksenia Sukhareva (Moscow, Russia) helped UMES go on a 4-0 run as they closed out SSU in less than 25 minutes.

UMES raced out a 10-0 in the second set. The advantage continued to grow as UMES upped its lead to 19-3 after a kill by senior Aleksandra Manolova (Sofia, Bulgaria). Despite a small comeback from the Tigers, UMES was able to hold down its clamp as the women won the frame 25-8 and held the Tigers to a negative hitting percentage for the second straight set. The eight points allowed in the set was the third time that UMES has limited its opponent to a single digit total in the past three years.

The final set was much of the same for UMES as its offensive onslaught was unable to be stopped by the winless Tigers. The Tigers fared better to begin the last set as they were down by just one, 6-5, through the first bit of action. UMES would change that a short time later as the Hawks scored six straight points and 10 of the next 11 to run away to a decisive victory.

Freshman Alana Polk (Houston, Tex.) rose to the challenge in the match as she posted a team-high eight kills and two digs in her first collegiate start. Smith chipped in with seven kills and a game-high 11 digs, while Fink neared a triple-double with 10 digs, 10 assists and seven kills. Savannah State nearly tripled UMES' attack errors and allowed seven service aces by the Hawks.

The Hawks look to continue their winning ways when they return to action tomorrow against Southern Utah at Centrum Arena at 1 p.m. MT.