PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland – The University of Maryland Eastern Shore volleyball program wraps up its fourth and final regular season tournament of the year with the George Mason Invitational starting on Friday, September 16 in Fairfax, Virginia.
 
The Hawks will be up against familiar foe Morgan State University on Friday, then host George Mason University on Saturday (September 17) and close out the weekend with the University of New Hampshire immediately after.
 
Checking in with the Hawks
 
Entering the tournament, the Hawks sit at 2-5 on the season after falling to William & Mary and Radford University in the Colonial Classic this past weekend. Against the Tribe the Hawks forced extra points in the third on Friday (September 9) but were swept and the Highlanders nabbed the match 3-1 that Saturday (September 10).
 
On offense Ranyla Griggs, Nkemjika Ikemefuna and Derionah Abner are leading the way as each has over 50 kills – Griggs and Ikemefuna seeing points mostly off the bench. Ikemefuna was the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week the second week of the season. Sophia Chacon has been the main setter for the Hawks with 147 assists, newcomer Romina Vacca is second on the team with 83. As a team the Hawks are hitting .224 to .234 compared to their opponents.
 
Defensively the Hawks look to Valeria Matias and her 99 digs to keep things alive, while Chacon and Isil Yilmaz aid the freshman to save points. Charlize Williams leads the team with 19 blocks and Soleil Cotton, who celebrated a birthday on Wednesday (September 14) is second with 12.
 
As a team, the Hawks are second in the MEAC in hitting percentage (.224), as well as third in kills per set (12.19), assists per set (11.15), blocks per set (1.58), aces (1.65) and digs per set (13.54).
 
This will be the last game before the Hawks begin conference play at Norfolk State on Friday, September 23.
 
Scouting the Weekend
 
With three opponents scheduled in under 24 hours, the Hawks will be put to the test in their last weekend of regular season tournament play. Starting with a little early season preview against Morgan State on Friday, it's a quick back-to-back with George Mason and the University of New Hampshire on Saturday.
 
Last season the Hawks went 2-0 against Morgan State, giving up just set to the Bears that finished the season 5-24 (3-11 MEAC). After being swept in three sets by American University, who the Hawks see in just a few weeks, Morgan sits at 0-11 and has won just two sets all season. Offensively the Hawks will need to be mindful of Makila Billingsly and Jourdan Page, who lead the team in kills with Mackenzie Jefferson being the set-up woman. Libero Alyssa Sampson has 121 digs for the squad and Justyus Jackson has 18 blocks.
 
On Saturday the Hawks start out with George Mason (2-6) on ESPN+ for those who cannot make the trip to Fairfax, Virginia. The Patriots are coming off of a split weekend at the Colonial Classic where the Hawks were able to get a glimpse of the upcoming competition – a tournament George Mason took a 3-1 win over Radford and 2-3 loss to William & Mary. They are lead offensively by a pair of underclassmen in Olyvia Kennedy and Gabriella Gelfound in kills, with Gelfound also leading the team in assists. Stephanie Der leads the Patriots in digs and Peyton Ehmke in blocks.
 
Scheduled for shortly after the Saturday midday, the Hawks play the University of New Hampshire for the first time since 2016. It'll be a quick turnaround against the 6-5 team that most recently took down Norfolk State at the Tennessee Tournament. The Wildcats have a balanced attack with four players over 50 kills so far, led by Marias Armer's 73, and Wren Macaulay has been a part of 160 of the teams 407 kills. At libero, the Hawks should expect to see Avery LePore with Kara Oxenknecht, Kelly Kaufman and Armer guarding the net.
 
About the Tournament
 
For the first time since the Bearcat Invitational the Hawks will be streamed online for those that can't travel, this time on ESPN+ at 1:30 on Saturday. Games against Morgan State on Friday and New Hampshire on Saturday will both have Live Stats available courtesy of George Mason.
 
Friday, September 16 at 4:30 – University of Maryland Eastern Shore vs Morgan State (UMES away)
Saturday, September 17 at 1:30 – University of Maryland Eastern Shore at George Mason (Live on ESPN+)
Saturday, September 17 at 3:30 – University of Maryland Eastern Shore at University of New Hampshire (UMES away)
 
Check out www.easternshorehawks.com for links to both Live Stats and streaming links and follow @ESHawksVBall for updates.