Box Score

HAMPTON, Va.- For the first time since 2011, the Hawks volleyball team came to Hampton University and defeated the Lady Pirates on their home floor. The victory came as a result of a 3-0 match (25-23, 25-12, 32-30) at Holland Hall in Virginia. With the win, UMES improves to 16-3 (5-1 MEAC) while Hampton drops to 1-18 (1-5 MEAC).

Freshman Zuzana Ondruskova (Bilovec, Czech Republic) led the Hawks in kills with 14, and sophomore Alana Polk (Houston, Texas) tallied eight kills with a .500 attack percentage, along with five block assists. Freshman Marta Klafuric (Donja Lomnica, Croatia) planted four aces to lead the team, who impressed with 11 total aces for the match.

Aces were the Hawks' key weapon in the first set. Klafuric delivered an ace to start the set, and she would tack on three more in the first set alone. In all the Hawks would secure eight aces in the opening set, which helped the team take a large lead early on. But the Lady Pirates used a bevy of kills and blocks of their own to storm back with an 8-2 run. However, two crucial kills from freshmen Rachel Kayongo (Northridge, Calif.) and Ondruskova gave the Hawks the set, despite having less kills and blocks than the Lady Pirates.

The second set proved to be decisive in favor of the Hawks as the visitors stormed out to an 8-1 lead and never looked back on the way to a 13 point set win and a 2-0 lead into the break.

In the third go around, Hampton rebounded to seesaw with UMES, with the Pirates gaining an advantage and the Hawks rallying to tie. The set stayed there all the way down to the wire, with extra time needed to settle the affair. UMES would earn several advantages with a plethora of match points, but the Pirates would respond on numerous occasions. At one point, Hampton's fate was even spared by a basketball hoop on the roof that prevented an ace. However, a kill by junior Haley Robinson (Honololu, Hawaii) gave the Hawks their seventh match point of the set, and a final block from Polk and sophomore Kirstin Fink (Tucson, Ariz.) gave UMES the victory.

With the win, the Hawks have surpassed their MEAC win total from a year ago with their fifth victory. Furthermore, they have tied Howard for first in the Northern Division at 5-1, with the opportunity to take the top spot outright pending a Bison match on Sunday.

UMES returns home to face La Salle in a non-conference matchup at 6:00p.m. Tuesday evening.