Photo Gallery

PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland - Sophomore Rachel Kayongo (Northridge, California) and freshman Ivana Blazevic (Zagreb, Croatia) led the charge as the Maryland Eastern Shore volleyball team defeated their Route 13 rival Delaware State in straight sets (25-8, 28-26, 25-14). The Hawks won their fifth straight to improve to 12-10 (5-1 MEAC) while Delaware State falls to 0-20 (0-6 MEAC).

Kayongo finished with a match high 16 kills against just four errors for a success rate of over 37 percent while adding seven digs. Blazevic registered her third double-double of the season with 32 assists and 11 digs, both team highs. The freshman also supplied four aces in the victory.

Other top performers included eight digs each from sophomores Zuzana Ondruskova (Bilovec, Czech Republic) and Koya Sowells (Missouri City, Texas), and a match high four block assists from junior Kirstin Fink (Tucson, Arizona).

Delaware State received eight kills from Sabina Szmajduch and a match high 13 digs from Aaliyah McBean.

Maryland Eastern Shore dominated the first set, storming out to a 10-2 lead which was capped by a kill from sophomore Lucia Babic (Sisak, Croatia), forcing a Hornets timeout. The Hawk lead was extended to 15-2 before Delaware State could respond. In the end the Hawks won the set by 17 points, converting more than half of their attacks in the process.

Set two played much tighter. Delaware State kept pace with The Shore, even as the Hawks built a five point lead at the 13-8 mark. The Hornets continued to hold on thru the middle of the set, and made a ferocious comeback to force extra time. Jae Jackson gave the Hornets a 25-24 edge, but Ondruskova responded with a kill of her own. Both teams traded service errors before Delaware State ran out of gas. Two attack errors by the Hornets gave the Hawks the set.

The Hawks rode the momentum of the second set to take victory in straight sets. Kayongo delivered six of her 16 kills and Babic struck home three of her eight kills, ending the match on a 13-5 run to win the set by 11 points.

Hampton comes to Princess Anne this Sunday for a 3 p.m. matchup.