WASHINGTON, D.C. — After a reputable 2021 season, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore volleyball team is hanging up the knee pads until 2022 after falling to the North Carolina Central University Eagles in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament on Friday (November 19). The scores by set inside Burr Gymnasium were 20-25, 25-17, 26-24 and 17-25.
"This season was full of ups and downs, from not playing last season we had to grow up quickly," head coach Trevor Callarman said.
It wasn't pretty for the Hawks in the first set as they quickly fell behind to the Eagles. Short runs off the serves of sophomore Maya Hendricks and senior Marina Cruz kept The Shore in the set but couldn't keep the Hawks in contention.
The Hawks found energy in the second set, running out to an 11-4 lead early on with defensive efforts at the net becoming key. Senior Mauri Carver and MEAC All-Rookie team member Charlize Williams attributed to several blocks to keep NCCU at bay as each ended the match with one solo block and three block assists. The second set also saw senior Alexis Lee inserted to help stabilize the defense at the net.
"We made a nice adjustment by putting Lexi up to block which helped us in the second," Callarman said. "And Mauri is always a cornerstone (for us) and her influence on us cannot be understated."
Late in the second, the Eagles were able to stir up four points in a row to battle back but were unable come back as Williams got a kill put the set away.
The third set was a war of attrition, with each team having runs of at least four straight points apiece. Battling back from 17-18, the Hawks were able to go up 22-19 before dropping the set.
"Central took that third set from us due to some poor first contacts after the first 20 points," Callarman said.
Despite the comeback attempt in the fourth set, The Shore was unable to get an advantage on NC Central's attacks. With the Eagles jumping out to a 3-0 lead, it was a matter of catch-up for Eastern Shore. Cruz was especially strong in the final set as she had back to back kills on two separate occasions, but it wasn't enough to take a lead.
Cruz concluded her career with a double-double as she finished with 20 kills and 11 digs. Carver had nine kills with a .600 hitting percentage to go along with her four total blocks.
"The play from Marina and Mauri was admirable, but we have to do a better from a passing perspective to hang in for some of these tougher matches," Callarman said.
"We have so much great talent in this group and so many good returners coming back, but we learned that we need to establish a winning culture. We need to get the discipline it takes to win a championship because that's our goal."
After falling in the first round of the MEAC Tournament, the Hawks end the season at 12-14 with a 6-3 home record.
