PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland — After dropping the first set to the Delaware State University Hornets, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore volleyball team responded by winning three straight sets to take the match 3-1 (25-27, 25-17, 25-23 and 25-14) on Tuesday night (Oct. 15).

"I think was one of our best matches of the season," head coach Trevor Callarman said. "This win means that we put ourselves in a good position in the conference standings."

The Hawks (8-13, 3-3 MEAC) got themselves back to .500 in conference play and are now tied for second with Coppin State in the MEAC Northern division. They got there by responding after a slow start against the Hornets.

Junior Tatjana Trifkovic (Belgrade, Serbia) had a strong showing on the service line in the middle of the second set to give Eastern Shore a 14-7 lead. She would finish the set with a kill to tie the match at one.

Delaware State jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the third set, but Maryland Eastern Shore had a methodical climb back into the set to tie the score at 15. The frame would go back and forth from there before sophomore Alexis Lee (Wilmington, Delaware) got a block and a kill to end the set.

The Shore would control the final set from start to finish led by strong service line performances by senior Ivana Blazevic (Zagreb, Croatia) and junior Anica Jestratijevic (Arandjelovac, Serbia).

Eastern Shore had a balanced offensive attack led by Trifkovic who finished with a career-high 18 kills. The Hawks also got a strong offensive output from their two middle blockers, senior Lidia Chery (Garfield, New Jersey) and sophomore Mauri Carver (Elizabeth City, North Carolina). Chery had seven kills with a .875 hitting percentage and Carver had eight kills and six blocks.

"Our middle blockers are really starting to score a lot more than they did last season and I think they are the most offensive middles in the conference," Callarman said. "They have put in a lot of work and coach Evann Slaughter has been able to get some beneficial individual work with them as well."

The Hawks will now travel to North Carolina to play North Carolina A&T on Friday (Oct. 18) and North Carolina Central on Sunday (Oct. 20).

"Our message this weekend is to just play Hawk Volleyball," Callarman said. "We want to present ourselves the same way each match and if we do that consistently I think we will be tough to beat."

For more information on Eastern Shore Athletics visit http://www.easternshorehawks.com/.