WILLIAMSBURG, Virginia – Up against two programs working to make their name in quality volleyball conferences the University of Maryland Eastern Shore volleyball team learned a lot about themselves despite heading back to Princess Anne with two losses.
 
The Hawks dropped their matches against William & Mary 0-3 on Friday (September 9) and 1-3 to Radford University on Saturday (September 10).
 
Defensively the Hawks were monsters at the net against the Tribe, racking up a combined nine team blocks with Charlize Williams picking up five assists herself.
 
In the first set the Hawks kept it tight until a late run fueled by the Tribe's Sabrina Malcolm and Kaitlyn Ferguson to put things out of reach, with UMES falling 25-18. Although the Hawks had only one error serving, they were only able to have a .870 reception percentage, making the difference.
 
The defense shored up in the second set only for the attack attempts not to drop for the Hawks, hitting only .100 while again falling to late Tribe runs after keeping things close through early points. Nkemjika Ikemefuna was dominate in the third, getting seven kills on just eight attempts but it wasn't enough even with the Hawks forcing the set to go to 28 points.
 
Saturday morning started out more successful for the Hawks against Radford, taking the first set 25-20 on the efforts of Charlize Williams' four point, two block series. Within the Hawks first five points, Williams had three kills and a block to get things started.
 
While the Hawks had a solid first set, they were unable to keep the efforts up as Radford was able to grab three straight to win the match. The final three sets were almost identical, with the Hawks giving a solid fight into the teens only to slowly watch the ties or leads fade away with the Highlanders seemingly always getting that extra point needed.
 
For the weekend on offense Ikemefuna and Ranyla Griggs led the team with 16 kills each, Ikemefuna's all off the bench and Griggs' all against Radford, Sophia Chacon finished with 44 assists. Defensively Valeria Matias and Isil Yilmaz both had 21 digs, Williams had three solo blocks to go along with five assists.
 
The Hawks are back in action this Friday (September 16) when they play in the George Mason Tournament, starting things off against MEAC for Morgan State, then playing George Mason and New Hampshire on Saturday (September 17).
 
Follow the action on Twitter via @ESHawksVBall.