HAMPTON, Virginia - In a match that could have easily gone in the opposite direction, Maryland Eastern Shore volleyball averted a 2-0 deficit from five points down in the second set to win before rallying to win in four sets (21-25, 26-24, 25-17, 25-13) over the Hampton Pirates at Holland Hall in Virginia on Sunday. The victory improves the Hawks' record to 9-10 (2-1 MEAC) while Hampton falls to 3-14 (2-2 MEAC).

"This was a very good team win for us." Hawks coach Toby Rens said after the match. "It was another hard fought come from behind win. I'm very pleased with the poise we showed today and this weekend."

Sophomore Lucia Babic (Sisak, Croatia) dominated all match long, finishing with 17 kills against just one error for an astonishing 55 percent success rate on attacks. Babic also delivered six of the team's ten aces, the most for any Hawk since Petra Jerabkova achieved the feat last November against Delaware State.

Maryland Eastern Shore was also aided by 25 asssists from freshman Ivana Blazevic (Zagreb, Croatia) and four blocks, including three solos, from senior Mere Serea (Suva, Fiji). Junior Kirstin Fink (Tucson, Arizona) matched Serea with four blocks of her own, two of which were solo.

"We had a number of players step it up and deliver at key moments in both matches [this weekend]." Rens said. "Today it was [sophomore] Koya Sowells (Missouri City, Texas) serving, Lucia's ability to score points and Ivana's decision making."

Hampton was led by a match high 23 kills from Reeana Richardson and 14 digs from libero Summer Humes.

Momentum was mostly with the Pirates in the first two sets. The Shore capitalized on several Hampton errors to lead by as much as four, but the Pirates rallied in front of their fans to quickly regain and keep the lead, eventually winning by their own four point margin.

Set two started as more of the same as a confident Hampton forced set point at the 24-19 mark. But with their backs against the wall, the Hawks abruptly swung the tide in their favor. Led by an unfazed Sowells at the service, the Hawks got a Babic kill then benefited from two Pirate errors. After a Hampton timeout, Sowells kept up the pressure with an ace, and Babic tallied another kill to tie the set at 24. Two more Pirate errors finished the comeback and tied the match at one entering intermission.

From there, the Hawks would not let up. The third set was tight early, but an ace from Blazevic capped a four point Hawk run that gave Maryland Eastern Shore the lead for good. Babic would finish off the set with an unbelievable service streak, totaling a trio of aces in a six point swing as The Shore won by eight.

In the fourth set the Hawks put the pedal to the metal, taking the lead early and never relenting. A Blazevic kill and two more Babic aces helped Eastern Shore close out the match on a 9-1 run.

The win marks the second straight for the Hawks, after defeating Norfolk State Friday night. "In Friday's win it was Fink helping off the bench and Mere's blocking and hitting that got us going." said Rens. "It led to two very nice wins on the road."

Maryland Eastern Shore returns home for a six match stretch, beginning Thursday at 7 p.m. versus Morgan State.