PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland — On Monday (Nov. 12), the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) announced seedings for the 2018 MEAC Volleyball Championships this weekend. In the tournament's first match, the Northern Division No. 2 University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks will battle the Southern Division's No. 3 seed, the North Carolina A&T State Aggies.
First serve will be 11 a.m. Friday (Nov. 16) at Burr Gymnasium in Washington, D.C..
"Our squad is peaking at the right time, so this is the perfect time to be gearing up for a conference tournament." Hawks coach Trevor Callarman said. "You can't take any opponent lightly, especially right now, and getting a team like North Carolina A&T first means we have to keep our energy up from the first serve to the last point."
This will be the fifth consecutive season the Hawks and Aggies have battled each other in volleyball. Over the past four meetings The Shore has won three, including a victory in the MEAC Quarterfinals in 2016. A&T got their victory in a five setter during the MEAC North-South challenge in September 2017.
The matchup will be the fourth meeting between the schools in the MEAC tournament since 1996. Prior to the Hawks' win in 2016, the Aggies won in 1997 and 2003. Friday's contest will also be a grudge match between the schools, with the sides splitting 16 matches over the past 22 seasons.
Maryland Eastern Shore finished with a 10-15 record, but earned seven wins in MEAC play. This include sweeps over Norfolk State and Delaware State and splits with Howard, Coppin State and Morgan State. North Carolina A&T also went 7-3 in conference, bolstered by sweeps of North Carolina Central, Savannah State and South Carolina State.
The Hawks are the last Northern Division team the Aggies will have challenged this season. So far they are 2-3 against the North, playing matches that did not factor into the conference record.
Fans should expect an aggressively served match as A&T and Eastern Shore are one and two, respectively, in service aces per set. The matchup also features two of the best hitters in the MEAC with The Shore's Lucia Babic and the Aggies' Courteney Pitt.
The winner of Friday's match will advance to the semifinals on Saturday (Nov. 17) at 5 p.m. against the winner of Florida A&M/Morgan State.
Tickets are $10 for each day and $25 for the tournament. For more information, visit the Volleyball Championship Central at MEACsports.com.
