NEWARK, Delaware — In a true back and forth affair, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore volleyball team fell to the Fordham University Rams in four sets on Friday evening (September 3) in the first day of the University of Delaware Invitational.

In the first set, the Hawks (1-3) fell behind early as they trailed by as many as six on two separate occasions. After taking a timeout down 16-11, the team began to rally with sophomore Maya Hendricks on the service line and pulled within one at 17-16.

They would tie the set at 22 following a block by freshman Charlize Williams and she would get another block later to give the squad a 25-24 advantage. Three points later, sophomore Jalynn Robinson and senior Mauri Carver would combine for a block to end the frame 27-25.

The next set followed the same script for the most part. The Shore fell behind 18-9 before they began a rally. They slowly got their way back in the set and a service ace from Hendricks tied the score at 23, however, they did not finish the job this time as an ace from the Rams finished the frame at 24-26.

In another seesaw battle, the Hawks jumped out to a 6-2 lead in set three. The Rams responded and tied the set at 14 after an ace. The two teams traded leads over the remainder of the frame as FU held on for a 22-25 win. In the final set, Fordham jumped out early and maintained a strong lead throughout as they won 15-25.

Hendricks and senior Alexis Lee led the offense as they had 12 and 11 kills respectively. Senior Stella Johnson tied her career high in digs with 24. Robinson finished with 20 assists and 11 digs.

Maryland Eastern Shore will be back in action tomorrow (September 4) in day two of the Delaware Invitational at 11 a.m. against NJIT. They will face the host Delaware at 5 p.m.