JERSEY CITY, New Jersey — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore volleyball team defeated the Saint Peter's University Peacocks in four sets on Wednesday evening (Sept. 18). The scores of each set were 25-17, 25-18, 18-25 and 25-20.

"It was nice to get a win tonight," head coach Trevor Callarman said. "I am glad to see us trending back up as we head into the weekend."

The Hawks (4-7) were in full control in the first two sets as they cruised to a 2-0 lead in the match. Junior Tatjana Trifkovic (Belgrade, Serbia) had eight of her 11 kills in the first two sets to lead the Hawks offense.

Saint Peter's responded in the third set to pull within one. The fourth set went back and forth before the Hawks were able to pull away late. The frame had nine ties and five lead changes. A kill from sophomore Alexis Lee (Wilmington, Delaware) gave the Hawks a 15-14 lead and they would never trail again.

Junior Ilina Spasova (Sofia, Bulgaria) led the Eastern Shore offense in the final two sets. She finished with a season-high 14 kills, while Lee and Trifkovic each had 11. Spasova had a hitting percentage of .481 and Lee finished at .471.

On defense, senior middle blocker Lidia Chery (Garfield, New Jersey) turned in a career-high nine blocks and sophomore Stella Johnson (Newport News, Virginia) had a game-high 16 digs. Senior Ivana Blazevic (Zagreb, Croatia) had another strong all-around match as she had 34 assists, 10 digs and four aces.

Maryland Eastern Shore will now play in the Hartford Invitational on Friday and Saturday (Sept. 20-21). They will face St. Francis Brooklyn and the University of Hartford on Friday at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. respectively.

"I hope that we can build on this match and stay hungry," Callarman said. "My goal is to try and build a win streak after this weekend before we head into conference play."

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