PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore volleyball team captured a 3-1 win (28-26, 22-25, 25-23 and 25-12) on Friday night (Nov. 15) against the Morgan State University Bears at the William P. Hytche Athletic Center. The Hawks ended the Bears' seven-match win streak with their win on Friday.
"I'm really proud at how we played tonight," head coach Trevor Callarman said. "We came out with a winning attitude and we showed a lot of heart on the court."
In the first set, the Hawks (12-17, 7-7 MEAC) faced a 24-22 deficit. Eastern Shore would fight back to get to set point at 27-26 and get a block from its two seniors Lidia Chery (Garfield, New Jersey) and Ivana Blazevic (Zagreb, Croatia) to end the set.
The two teams would split the next two sets. After MSU tied the match at one in set two, Eastern Shore responded in the third set to take the lead. Maryland Eastern Shore was down 23-22 in the third set before sophomores Alexis Lee (Wilmington, Delaware) and Mauri Carver (Elizabeth City, North Carolina) combined for a block to tie the score. Junior Anica Jestratijevic (Arandjelovac, Serbia) would end the set with a kill and an ace.
The Shore gained controlled of the final set early and did not let up. Eastern Shore went on a 10-1 run in the middle of the frame to take an 18-8 lead to get a strangle hold on the match. They would end the match by getting the final five points including back-to-back aces from Blazevic to end the evening.
Lee led the squad with 15 kills. Sophomore Stella Johnson (Newport News, Virginia) had a game-high 21 digs to anchor the defense. Blazevic finished with 38 assists, four aces and a career-high six blocks.
The Shore will now play Coppin State on Sunday (Nov. 17) at 3 p.m. Sunday's match will serve as senior day for Blazevic and Chery.
Maryland Eastern Shore, Delaware State and Coppin State all have 7-7 conference records with one match left to play. The three teams all play on Sunday with two spots left in the MEAC Tournament. If the Hawks win or Delaware State loses to Morgan State, Eastern Shore will be in the tournament beginning on Nov. 22.
For more information on Eastern Shore Athletics visit http://www.easternshorehawks.com/.
