Oct. 22, 2017
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PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland - With a 3-0 sweep (29-27, 25-20, 25-20) the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks won their seventh match in a row, defeating Bethune-Cookman in a non-conference Sunday (Oct. 22) matinee.
The Hawks (21-6) were greatly aided with a double-double by sophomore Iva Vujosevic (Bar, Montenegro), who supplied 11 digs and a match-high 17 kills-including 10 in the decisive third set. Vujosevic also led the team with a .412 hitting percentage.
Other top performers included 10 kills and a match-high four aces from junior Lucia Babic (Sisak, Croatia), nine kills and three aces by junior Rachel Kayongo (Northridge, California), 32 assists and two blocks from junior Carolina Machado (Sao Paulo, Brazil), and two block assists each from graduate student Mere Serea (Suva, Fiji) and senior Alana Polk (Houston, Texas).
Bethune-Cookman (8-11) received 14 kills by Jordan Jefferson and a match-high 12 digs from Phalen Clark.
The momentum of the match was decided in a pivotal first set. Each team made lengthy runs-first the Wildcats, countered by the Hawks. Bethune-Cookman generally held the advantage from then on, building to a 23-21 lead. The Shore responded with a Kayongo kill and two blocks to earn the first set point opportunity, but a bad set and a Wildcat kill flipped the lead to 25-24. After battling to a 27-27 deadlock, the Hawks were able to complete the comeback with kills by Vujosevic and Machado.
A 5-0 run early in set two by Maryland Eastern Shore proved too much for Bethune-Cookman to overcome as the Hawks won 25-20 to take a 2-0 lead, before repeating the feat in set three. Both runs proved to be the difference in each set.
Sunday's match served as a potential Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship preview, as both the Hawks and Wildcats possess undefeated conference records in their respective divisions. The MEAC Championships will take place November 17th-19th and will be hosted by Maryland Eastern Shore.
For now, however, the Hawks will focus on the upcoming week which includes trips to La Salle on Tuesday (Oct. 24) and a rematch with Howard Friday (Oct. 27).
