MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- After dropping their first set of the season to Texas Southern, Maryland Eastern Shore's volleyball team needed to rally the troops in order to keep a perfect start to the season intact. They did just that, taking the next three sets on the way to a 3-1 victory (23-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-23) in Montgomery Saturday.

Sophomores Rachel Kayongo (Northridge, California) and Lucia Babic (Sisak, Croatia) were the attack leaders for the Hawks (3-0), with Kayongo contributing 19 kills and a 46.9% success rate and Babic supplying 10 kills and a 40% success rate. Junior Kirstin Fink (Tucson, Arizona) assisted on 16 kills.

On defense, sophomore Zuzana Ondruskova (Bilovec, Czech Republic) led in digs with 15 to go along with a team-high three aces. A trio of Hawks--senior Mere Serea (Suva, Fiji), junior Alana Polk (Houston, Texas) and sophomore Marta Klafuric (Donja Lomnica, Croatia)--earned one solo block each.

For the Tigers (0-3), Kali Fluke led in kills with 20 over 33 total attempts. Former Hawk Allison Woods led Texas Southern in digs with 11.

All four sets were closely fought as neither team held more than a five point advantage at any one time. Texas Southern built a small lead and held on to win the first set, but the Hawks returned the favor to beat the Tigers in a similar fashion during set two.

In the pivotal third set, the Tigers held the slim lead entering the final points. But the Hawks rallied thanks to a pair of Serea aces that leveled the set. A series of attack errors from Texas Southern gave a three point victory to Maryland Eastern Shore and the edge for the remainder of the match.

Tight play continued in the fourth set and the final five plays ended up deciding the contest. A Babic kill tied the score at 22 but the Tigers took the lead right back with a kill of their own. Needing to tie or face set point, Polk converted a successful attack to even things up at 23. The Hawks then completed the victory with kills by freshman Ivana Blazevic (Zagreb, Croatia) and Kayongo.

The Hawks hope to conclude their run at the ISTAP Collegiate Challenge with a 4-0 record, but to obtain it the Hawks will have to defeat the reigning Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament Champion Jackson State. An 8 p.m first serve is scheduled.