WASHINGTON, D.C. — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore volleyball team outlasted the George Washington University Colonials in five sets on Saturday (September 11) in the final day of the Dig the District Tournament in Washington, D.C.
"We really needed this win," head coach Trevor Callarman said. "We tried a lot of new stuff this weekend, but for this match we went with a more traditional lineup and the girls clicked right back in and I couldn't be more proud of the team's performance."
The Hawks (3-6) came out strong in set one and led early 5-3. The Colonials came back and held a 21-18 advantage late. The Shore scored the next six points with sophomore Lyric Snowden on the service line. Two points later, senior Alexis Lee got a kill to give the team a 25-22 win.
In the second set, Maryland Eastern Shore started strong as they led 7-2 following a kill from Snowden. George Washington fought back and tied the set at 15 and then went on a 5-0 run.
The Hawks did not go quietly as a kill from sophomore Maya Hendricks brought the GW lead to 22-20 and forced a Colonials timeout. After the timeout, Maryland Eastern Shore pulled within one following an error by George Washington. That is close as it would get though as GW won the final three points to take the frame 25-21.
In the third set, the back-and-forth battle continued. For the second consecutive frame the score was tied at both 14 and 15. GW held a late lead at 23-21, but senior captain Mauri Carver got two kills in a row to tie the score and force a timeout from the home team. The Shore kept their run going following the timeout and got an ace from sophomore Jalynn Robinson and a kill from junior Derionah Abner to secure the 25-23 win.
Eastern Shore found themselves down 11-5 quickly in the fourth set. They rebounded and were able to tie the score at 14 after a kill from Abner. The Colonials would score the next three points and hold off The Shore to force a deciding set.
The Hawks got an early 4-0 advantage in the fifth set. They kept the pressure on as a block from Carver gave the squad an 8-2 lead. GW would not go away though as they scored the next three points and get eventually get within one at 12-11. Eastern Shore would close the door after that and get the final three points, which were punctuated by Abner's 20th kill of the match to finish the final set.
Abner had the game high in kills and also four blocks as well. Carver had her best statistical game in the maroon and gray as she finished with career highs in kills, points and blocks with 17, 23 and 11 respectively.
"Mauri had a massive day. I think she just came out with fire and they didn't really have an answer for her," Callarman said. "She came in this week, watched film and asked 'what do I need to improve on' and she went out and made those adjustments on the court."
"Derionah's new to the system, so we've been slowly working her in to make sure things click and this weekend it finally clicked," Callarman said. "We knew she had this potential in her and we expect more performances like today as we move forward because she's clutch."
The Shore also got double-doubles from three other players. Robinson had 27 assists and 18 digs. Hendricks had 11 kills and 13 digs, while sophomore Sophia Chacon finished with 12 assists and 13 digs.
Maryland Eastern Shore will now host their first match since November 17, 2019, next weekend (September 17-18) as they welcome St. Francis (Pa.) and Hampton into the Hytche Center for the Henson Hawk Invitational.
