PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland – It was an all-around performance for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore volleyball program on Wednesday (November 9) afternoon at the Hytche Athletic Center against the visiting Morgan State Bears. The Hawks (8-16, 6-7 MEAC) took down the Bears (3-23, 2-10 MEAC) in four sets by scores of 25-23, 25-14, 21-25 and 25-10 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play.
 
Taking the victory wasn't the only thing to celebrate, with the Hawks honoring Derionah Abner, Sophia Chacon, Alexis Lee and Sydney Morris prior to the match for Senior Day.
 
"It was good to see the seniors lay it all out there on the court today," head coach Trevor Callarman said. "We had a big performance from Lexi who kind of carried us through. It's nice to get a win on senior day."
 
The Hawks were given a scare in the first set, as Morgan was able to jump out to a 1-5 lead and then traded points until the University of Maryland Eastern Shore took a late one-point lead off an Alexis Lee kill for the 16^th point. Still exchanging points, the Hawks took a timeout at 23-all to draw a Bear service error, followed by an ace by Nkemjika Ikemefuna to seal it up.
 
It was sheer dominance for the Hawks in the second set, taking the first point and allowing just one tie – the Bears first point of the set – throughout. It only took seven kills for the Hawks to do their damage, but once again Lee in her final home game was solid, notching three kills. Ranyla Griggs also had a showing in the second, with a kill, two aces, three digs and perfect on the reception.
 
There was a bit of a lull for the Hawks in the third set, letting Morgan grab a few late runs that separated the squads. While the Hawks out-aced the Bears, there were just a few mental lapses at key points, the Hawks having to burn two timeouts to stop opposing runs, aiding in giving the visitors the set.
 
After experiencing a rough third, the Hawks responded with brilliant play in the fourth by scoring the first point on a Morgan service error and never looked back.
 
With Sophia Chacon at the service line in the rotation the Hawks were successful in 12 of her 14 serves, drowning the Bears with perfect placements and allowing her team the ability to respond on the return. Chacon had three aces to just one service error, while also getting four assists and three digs, as well as two kills including the final with her signature setter dump.
 
"That's what you want to see out of your seniors, have someone take over a match, grab the match by the reins and she did that at the service line, then got offensive," Callarman said. "She showed some great leadership down the stretch of the match."
 
Lee saved her last home game for one of the best in her career, the Wilmington, Delaware native had a game high 11 kills at a .259 rate. Defensively, Isil Yilmaz played lights out and had a season high 27 digs, the first time she's had more than 17 all season. Charlize Williams as usual was dominant at the net with two solo and three assisted blocks.
 
"I thought we served pretty focused and pretty tough to keep them out of system," Callarman said. "We earned a lot of free balls and earned a lot of down balls, that makes it easier to earn some digs. You can't get the digs unless you're disciplined, Isil was disciplined, brought some energy and was great at the service line."
 
It's a quick turnaround for the Hawks, heading to Delaware State for the regular season finale on Friday (November 11) in Dover, Delaware.
 
Follow the action on Twitter via @ESHawksVBall.