Box Score

BALTIMORE, Md.- Their first road MEAC match was going to be a test for the Hawks, as the upstart volleyball team had to face the Morgan State Bears, who rocketed to a 3-0 start in conference play. After an hour and a half match, the Hawks walked out with a grade of "A", dispensing the Bears by a 3-0 score (25-17, 25-18, 26-24) at Hill Field House in Baltimore Friday.

The Hawks picked up their second conference win of the season (13-3, 2-1 MEAC) as well as the first true road win of the year. Morgan State dropped their first MEAC result of the year (6-12, 3-1 MEAC).

Freshman Zuzana Ondruskova (Bilovec, Czech Republic) led the Hawks with 10 kills, while fellow freshman Lucia Babic (Sisak, Croatia) tallied seven kills to go along with an impressive .545 kill percentage. Another first year player, Marta Klafuric (Donja Lomnica, Croatia) participated in a team-high four blocks, while sophomore Alana Polk (Houston, Texas) chipped in a solo block and an assist. Polk also supplied eight kills and earned a team high .583 kill percentage.

Overall the Hawks hit .364 as a team, their most successful percentage as a team.

The first two sets were played evenly until the end, when the Hawks sparked a pair of furious rallies to take a commanding lead in the match. With the first set deadlocked at 17, a Klafuric kill and Ondruskova ace gave the Hawks the lead. Thanks to kills by Babic and junior Haley Robinson (Honolulu, Hawaii), the Hawks did not surrender a point to Morgan the rest of the way. UMES pulled away from a 13-13 tie in the second set with help from an ace by senior Andjela Reljic (Novi Sad, Serbia). The Hawks finished off the Bears with a 12-5 run.

In the third set, UMES jumped out to an early led, but the Bears fought to hang around, knotting the set at several junctions. Once again, though, the Hawks broke away late and Robinson's kill forced a match point. However, Morgan came roaring back with a four point rally and gained some momentum in attempting to force a fourth set.

But with an Ondruskova kill and a final blow from sophomore Kirstin Fink (Tucson, Ariz.), the Hawks won the third set in extra time.

There won't be much rest for the UMES volleyball squad as they will challenge the Coppin State Eagles Saturday at 3:00p.m. in Baltimore.