DURHAM, North Carolina – The University of Maryland Eastern Shore volleyball team is returning from its trip down south with smiles on their faces, coming back with two Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference wins after taking down North Carolina Central 3-1 (25-20, 13-25, 26-24, 25-23) on Sunday, October 9 in Durham, North Carolina.
 
It's the first time the Hawks (4-12, 2-3 MEAC) have beaten the Eagles (3-13, 2-3 MEAC) in Durham since 2010, when the conference was split between North and South divisions.
 
"What a fantastic win," head coach Trevor Callarman said. "That was probably one of my favorite wins of my career, it was fun and a great team effort. Those are the moments you play sports or coach sports for."
 
North Carolina Central was able to grab a strong six-point lead in the first set until the Hawks caught fire following a timeout to go on a 12-2 run to begin burying the Eagles. The Hawks were knocking down every ball Sophia Chacon or Romina Vacca served up, hitting .467 in the set, including Charlize Williams going perfect in her four attempts.
 
Williams also had a solo block in the set.
 
"She (Williams) was competitive today," Callarman said. "She had a massive block against their middle. She was knocking them down on the pins. She played with great confidence – it was fun to watch her play."
 
It was a much different story in the second set as the Hawks couldn't get much going after an early battle making it 9-9. Maryland Eastern Shore allowed the Eagles to go on an 11-1 run and an injury on the Hawks kept any effort at a comeback to happen.
 
After a strong first set on the attack, the Hawks hit in the negatives in the second and couldn't defend the net with no blocks to the Eagles three.
 
The woes continued in the third with the Hawks allowing the Eagles to grab an easy 9-3 lead before Callarman called a timeout for the squad to collect themselves. It would turn out to be the key to the set, with North Carolina Central coming out of the break with a serving error and the Hawks eventually tying it up at 16 before each team traded points until set point – going to the 26^th point.
 
"We lost our energy in the second set and it kind of carried over into the third too," Callarman said. "We kinda knocked the wind out of our sails a little bit but we really worked as a team to create our own energy."
 
Nkemjika Ikemefuna was an absolute monster in the set, scoring 7.5 of the Hawks points with six kills, a solo and a single block.
 
"Kemy had another great performance," Callarman said. "Just beating up the line, taking brave swings."
 
If the first three sets weren't dramatic enough, the two teams didn't disappoint in the fourth and what would be the final set, with 10 lead changes and three lead changes. The Hawks looked to take control when they went up 13-9 on a Soleil Cotton ace, only for the Eagles to call a timeout and gain enough energy to eventually take a 17-18 lead.
 
Once again it was a timeout by Callarman to throw the Eagles off balance, with Chacon skipping a pass to tie the game back up once the Hawks were back on the court. With the game locked up at 23-23, Williams and Ranyla Griggs came up big with two kills to seal the win for the Hawks.
 
"Kind of back and forth but an awesome fight," Callarman said.
 
The Hawks were spearheaded on offense by Ikemefuna's 15 kills and two aces while chipping in two block assists and three digs. Williams finished the afternoon tallying up 11 kills with no errors and also was dominate at the net with two solo and two assisted blocks. The double headed passing attack of Chacon and Vacca continues to work well, with a combined 39 of the Hawks 52 assists.
 
It's a decent break for the Hawks, getting five days to look at the successes of the past weekend and working towards taking on Coppin State University next Friday (October 14) at the Hytche.
 
Follow the action on Twitter via @ESHawksVBall.