BETHLEHEM, Pennsylvania — In a battle of birds of a feather meeting strength for strength, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore volleyball team suffered a tough loss to the Lehigh Mountain Hawks (25-19, 16-25, 21-25, 24-26) at Leeman-Turner Arena in Bethlehem Tuesday (Sept. 11).
The most impressive stat lines for Maryland Eastern Shore (3-7) came from a pair of record breaking efforts. Freshman Alexis Lee (Wilmington, Delaware) registered 10 kills in 11 attempts for a .909 hitting percentage. That mark is the highest percentage by a hitter since individual game-by-game stats were tracked in 2007. Samantha Chukwura earned the previous top mark after she hit .778 versus Florida A&M on November 16, 2008.
On the defensive end, senior Koya Sowells (Missouri City, Texas) finished the match with a personal record of 17 digs. That number is second highest on the team this year, behind Maja Jankovic's 20 in the season opener versus Central Michigan.
"Our team battled and struggled for every point." Head Coach Trevor Callarman said. "Lehigh is a tough opponent, and when we can go into someone else's house and fight them to the brink, it will only make us stronger."
As a team the Hawks matched Lehigh on the stat sheet. They edged their opponents in hitting percentage .269 to .266, earned 43 digs to the Mountain Hawks' 39, and tallied seven blocks to Lehigh's six.
The attackers alongside Lee also enjoyed nice matches. Senior Lucia Babic (Sisak, Croatia) was within striking distance of a double-double after earning 14 kills and eight digs. Fellow senior Rachel Kayongo (Northridge, California) can boast the same after leading the team with 16 kills and adding seven digs. Babic also added five aces and two solo blocks during the contest.
Junior Ivana Blazevic (Zagreb, Croatia) assisted on 42 of the Hawks' 45 kills. Freshman Stella Johnson (Newport News, Virginia) was second behind Sowells with nine digs.
Babic picked up three of her five aces in a crucial first set rally that turned the tide to The Shore. The Hawks rode the momentum to a 1-0 match lead, but Lehigh responded with a .591 attack percentage in set two to knot the score.
Maryland Eastern Shore countered a Mountain Hawk rally in set three, but Lehigh pulled away late to take a six point lead at 20-14. A steady comeback was mustered but the Mountain Hawks held on. Set four was anyone's battle to win. Both sides rallied and countered until the Hawks pushed back from a 24-22 deficit to force extra time. A service error and Lehigh kill gave the match to the home squad.
The Shore will travel to Colorado for the Denver Invitational, battling Navy and Air Force Friday (Sept. 14), and Samford and Denver Saturday (Sept. 15).
