PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland — In the home crowd's first chance to see the team perform, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore volleyball pleased the Hytche Athletic Center patrons as they defeated Rider University in four sets on Friday night (Sept. 13). The scores from the match were 27-25, 25-22, 25-27 and 25-23.
"It was good to get a win on our home court and the fans were awesome tonight," head coach Trevor Callarman said. "We plan on being more consistent tomorrow from the service line and I am looking forward to more big performances from our defense as well."
The back-and-forth match began with 14 ties and 10 lead changes in the first set. Junior Anica Jestratijevic (Arandjelovac, Serbia) ended the set with back-to-back aces at the end of the frame to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead.
Set two saw the Broncs get out to an early 9-3 lead. Eastern Shore would claw their way back in the set and would take a 23-22 lead following an error from Rider. A kill from Alexis Lee (Wilmington, Delaware) and another error from the Broncs would end the set.
Rider would win their lone set in the third frame. They would jump out to a quick lead once again and were able to fend off a late Maryland Eastern Shore rally.
The final set was like a seesaw until the Hawks were able to seize control with junior Ilina Spasova (Sofia, Bulgaria) on the service line. The Shore ran off six straight points after the score was tied at 14 with Spasova serving. Rider made a comeback and tied the score at 23 before sophomore Mauri Carver (Elizabeth City, North Carolina) had a block and Rider had an error to end the match.
Eastern Shore was led by seniors Lidia Chery (Garfield, New Jersey) and Ivana Blazevic (Zagreb, Croatia). Chery finished the game with seven kills and a game-high eight blocks. Blazevic had 35 assists and eight kills with a .800 hitting percentage. Sophomore Stella Johnson (Newport News, Virginia) had a career-high 24 digs in the match and Spasova led the squad with 11 kills.
Maryland Eastern Shore will be back in action in the morning (Sept. 14) at 10 a.m. against former MEAC opponent Hampton. They will play their second and final match of the day at 7 p.m. versus Robert Morris.
For more information on Eastern Shore Athletics visit http://www.easternshorehawks.com/.
