HACKENSACK, New Jersey — On Saturday (August 28), the University of Maryland Eastern Shore volleyball secured the first win for the school in any sport since March 2020 with a sweep of the Manhattan College Jaspers. They dropped a match earlier in the day to the Fairleigh Dickinson University Knights 3-1.
"This was a good way to bounce back and battle at the end of a long weekend," head coach Trevor Callarman said. "We got the entire roster on the court this weekend and I think we know where we are and what we need to improve on."
In the match versus Fairleigh Dickinson, the Hawks got out to a fast start and held a 16-9 lead following an error by the Knights in the first set. FDU mounted a comeback and pulled within two at 23-21, but had an error that made it set point for Eastern Shore. Two points later, graduate student Marina Cruz got a kill to finish the frame.
The next two sets were back and forth affairs that saw the Hawks suffer two point losses in each. In the final set, FDU got out to a lead and stymied any rally Maryland Eastern Shore could put together.
Sophomore Maya Hendricks had a double-double in the contest with 11 kills and 12 digs. Senior Stella Johnson led the team in digs with 24.
In the contest with Manhattan, Eastern Shore jumped out early in the first set and took a 14-8 lead following an ace from sophomore Jalynn Robinson. The team maintained their lead throughout the frame and finished the set with a 25-18 win after an error by the Jaspers.
The second set began evenly match and the score stood tied at 11. The Hawks would then go on an 11-0 run with Cruz on the service line. Manhattan mounted their own comeback, but an ace from senior Tijana Korosec ended the set with a 25-20 Hawks win.
In the final frame, Maryland Eastern Shore led by three or four points for the majority of the set. They led 24-19 late before the Jaspers scored three straight points, but a kill from senior Mauri Carver ended the set and match.
Carver finished the match with game-highs in kills and blocks with eight and five respectively. Cruz, Robinson and sophomore Portia Strasburg each finished the match with 11 digs.
The Hawks will be back in action next weekend (September 3-4) in the University of Delaware Tournament where they will face Fordham, NJIT and Delaware.
