HAMPTON, Virginia - Junior Rachel Kayongo (Northridge, California) continued her dominance against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) foes, delivering 14 kills and a .300 hitting percentage as the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks defeated the Hampton Pirates in four sets (25-22, 15-25, 25-19, 25-12) Thursday evening (Oct. 17) at Holland Hall in Virginia.

The Shore (19-6, 6-0 MEAC) also received excellent performances from sophomore Iva Vujosevic (Bar, Montenegro) with 11 digs and eight kills, another 11 digs from junior Maja Jankovic (Ruma, Serbia) and four block assists from graduate student Mere Serea (Suva, Fiji), who also hit .615 for the match with eight kills on 13 attempts.

With her match leading 14 kills Kayongo now leads the Hawks in MEAC play with 70 (3.04 per set). The junior also leads the team with a .283 hitting percentage.

Hampton (8-14, 3-3 MEAC) saw 13 kills for Reeana Richardson and a match high 29 assists from Lena Reed-Petracek.

Maryland Eastern Shore outhit Hampton .264 to .077, earned 42 assists to the Pirates' 32, and completed seven aces against three.

Both squads split the first two sets, with the Hawks edging the Pirates by three in set one before getting overwhelmed in a ten point Hampton win, using an 11-2 swing to tie the match.

Riding the momentum Hampton built an 11-7 lead in set three, and the Hawks needed a rally to avoid falling behind for a second consecutive match. That rally would begin on the next point as Serea delivered a kill. From there the Hawks rattled off nine of the next ten points, and Hampton could not close the gap more than two. The Shore scored the final four points of the set to win.

The fourth set was a blowout, with the Hawks building a 16-4 landslide on the way to a thirteen point win, taking the match in three.

With the win Maryland Eastern Shore surpasses their 2016 win total, when the Hawks went 18-13. They will go for their 20^th victory Friday (Oct. 20) at the Hytche Center in Princess Anne against Delaware State. A 6 p.m. first serve is scheduled.