PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore volleyball team remained undefeated at home this season on Friday night (October 8) as they swept the South Carolina State University Bulldogs. The scores by set were 25-13, 25-17 and 25-10.
"We knew we had to do our job today and the girls did that tonight," head coach Trevor Callarman said. "As the second half of the conference season starts, we are trying to make sure we build to be a championship team because we know we have the talent."
In the opening frame, the Hawks (7-8, 2-2 MEAC) jumped out to a 12-4 lead after back to back aces from senior Stella Johnson. SCSU would cut the lead in half to 17-13 following an attack error by Eastern Shore. After that, the Bulldogs would have an error of their own and senior Marina Cruz stepped to the service line. She did not leave that spot until the set was over as the team finished the frame on an 8-0 run capped by a kill from senior Mauri Carver.
The second set was dead even at five after 10 points. Maryland Eastern Shore would score eight of the next 10 points to take a 13-7 advantage. South Carolina State responded by closing the gap to one later in the frame as the Hawks led 15-14.
The Shore went on to score five straight points to stabilize their lead. Eastern Shore would keep the visitors at bay and eventually an error from S.C. State ended the frame.
In the final set, the Bulldogs got out to a 4-2 lead. The Hawks responded with nine straight points with Johnson on the service line. They would build off that to eventually lead 19-8 late in the frame.
Senior Tijana Korosec would go to the service line at that point and lead a 5-0 run punctuated by two straight aces to bring the squad within one point of victory. South Carolina State would score two straight after that but would commit a service error on the next point to end the match.
The Hawks were led by sophomore Maya Hendricks' game-high 12 kills. Sophomore Jalynn Robinson finished with a double-double as she had 16 assists and 11 digs.
Eastern Shore will be back in action on Sunday (October 10) against North Carolina Central inside the Hytche Center. First serve will be at 1 p.m.
"We know who we are as a team and we are trying to make a statement to the conference," Callarman said. "We had the losses to Howard and Delaware State, but we want to show that those were off matches so our goal is to make a statement on Sunday."
