DENVER, Colorado — On the final day in Colorado the University of Maryland Eastern Shore volleyball team was swept by the Denver Pioneers and the Samford Bulldogs. They fell 3-0 in the morning (12-25, 22-25, 17-25) to Denver, then lost 3-0 (12-25, 24-26, 20-25) to Samford in the afternoon.
Maryland Eastern Shore fell to 3-11 on the season with the defeats.
Against Denver, junior Ivana Blazevic (Zagreb, Croatia) earned seven kills on eight attempts while adding 12 assists and five digs. Fellow junior Lidia Chery (Garfield, New Jersey) finished the match with three block assists.
In the Samford match it was senior Lucia Babic (Sisak, Croatia) who led with 13 kills. Blazevic just missed a double-double with 26 assists and nine digs. Senior Koya Sowells (Missouri City, Texas) delivered a match-high 12 digs in the loss.
Denver defeated the Hawks in part to a pair of relentless runs. They finished the first set on a 17-4 run and led off set three with a 17-2 run.
The Shore had an excellent chance to take the second set from Samford, but the Bulldogs' Kelsi Hobbs delivered three aces in a 6-0 comeback.
The Hawks will have nearly two weeks away from competition before opening Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play on September 28th at Delaware State.
