PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland – It was a hard loss for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore volleyball team on Friday, October 14 at the Hytche Athletic Center, falling to visiting Coppin State University 3-1 (23-25, 13-25, 25-22, 20-25) in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference regular season match.
 
"Always tough to not come out on top, but we saw a lot of great things from our Lady Hawks tonight," head coach Trevor Callarman said. "A few points go our way, and we would've forced a fifth set, looking forward to playing them again on the road."
 
The Hawks (4-13, 2-4 MEAC) came out strong in the first set, with Isil Yilmaz hitting three straight aces against the Eagles (14-8, 5-1 MEAC) to put Maryland Eastern Shore up 7-3. Eagle errors would have the Hawks leading by as much as 14-9 until Coppin head coach Tim Walsh called a timeout to stop the momentum.
 
Slowly the Eagles chipped away at the Hawk lead, eventually tying the game up at 19-all with a block at the net – leading to the teams trading points until Coppin was able to snag the final two of the set.
 
Once again, the Hawks came out strong in the second set, keeping it as close as 7-8 before the Eagles caught fire with a seven-point run fueled by Genesis Hernandez at the service line. After the fourth point of the run, Callarman called a timeout, but it wasn't enough to stop a flowing Eagle offense aided by Hawk errors, giving Coppin the set.
 
It was an exciting third set that saw seven ties and five lead changes, as well strong runs by both sides as the Hytche filled for Hawk Hysteria. The set looked to be a tight battle until the Eagles tied the game up at 10 and started what seemed to be the burying of the Hawks, putting them down by four at 10-14 before a Maryland Eastern Shore timeout.
 
Coming out of the break, Charlize Williams, who had two kills and a solo block in the third, was set up by Sophia Chacon and woke the Hawks up. The sides would trade points until the 19^th when Coppin's Andrea Tsvetanova picked up a yellow card, shaking up the Eagles. Yazmyn Stewart behind the line would give the Hawks four straight points and then the set was given to the Hawks following Williams' block.
 
In the final set, Maryland Eastern Shore stayed tight early at 5-5 but quickly lost control when the Eagles stretched the lead out to 7-10 until Callarman called a timeout. The break gave the Hawks a point, but they still were never able to recover against the Eagles, getting it as close as 20-22 but unable to overcome the deficit.
 
Sydney Morris led the way for the Hawks on offense with 10 kills at a solid .280 hitting percentage, Romina Vacca (15 assists) and Sophia Chacon (13 assists) continued to split setting duties. Yilmaz and Nkemjika Ikemefuna each had three aces apiece.
 
Defensively, the Hawks held their own with 44 digs, topped by Isil Yilmaz's 17, and Williams finished with two solo blocks and one assisted block.
 
"Our back row played incredibly well on defense and we had some players really pop on offense," Callarman said.
 
The Hawks are back in action on Sunday (October 16) in Baltimore at 1 p.m. against Morgan State University, Live Stats will be provided by the Bears.
 
Follow the action on Twitter via @ESHawksVBall.