PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland – Coming off a 1-1 home tournament, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore volleyball team is heading to Williamsburg, Virginia this upcoming weekend to play in the Colonial Classic. The Hawks (2-3) will play against host William & Mary at 5 p.m. on Friday (September 9) and have a quick turnaround, going against Radford University on Saturday (September 10) at 11 a.m. before heading home.
 
Also appearing at the tournament will be George Mason University, giving the coaching staff and student-athletes a chance to scout their upcoming competition when the Hawks attend the Patriots home tournament next weekend.
 
Last Time Out
 
It was a mixed bag for the Hawks at the Henson Hawk Invitational, dropping the opening match to Hampton University 1-3 and then turned around the next day to sweep Manhattan College 3-0.
 
Against Hampton, the Hawks struggled to find consistency at the service line and in receiving, committing 10 errors to the Pirates three, and finishing with a sub-.900 reception percentage. While serving was still a bit of an issue on Saturday, the Hawks were near perfect on receptions with just one team error and were much cleaner on the attack.
 
For their efforts in the tournament, freshman Nkemjika Ikemefuna was named Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Rookie of the week with 17-kills off the bench, and Derionah Abner was the Hawks All-Tournament member with 17-kills and contributed on three blocks.
 
As a team, the Hawks currently second in the MEAC in hitting percentage, assists and kills per set, while being third in blocks, aces and digs per set. Leaders in the conference include Ikemefuna (.296, 7^th hitting percent), Alexis Lee (2.73, 4^th kills per set), Ranyla Griggs (2.44, 8^th kills per set), Sophia Chacon (5.42, 6^th assists per set), Charlize Williams (.69, 7^th blocks per set) and Valeria Matias (4.11, 3^rd digs per set).
 
Colonial Classic Competition
 
Much like the Hawks, both William & Mary and Radford have started their season with a pair of tournaments with mixed success as they work out the rust of the offseason. The Tribe enters the weekend at 3-3 and are coming off a three-match sweep of the Duquesne/Robert Morris Invitational and the Highlanders at 3-4 after a four-match split at the Towson Tournament.
 
In 2020, the Tribe went 5-16 (2-12 CAA) and have nine new student-athletes on the roster to mix in with nine returnees. William & Mary lost its two-time All-CAA middle blocker Julia Brown but returned much of its attack line and had graduate transfers Taylor Burrell from Miami and Emma Minnick from Charleston Southern, alongside a sophomore transfer Eleanor Statoff from Michigan State.
 
The biggest impact for William & Mary so far this season is freshman outside hitter Sarah Callender, who has already taken home the CAA Rookie of the Week award twice. Over the three matches last weekend, Callender had 26 kills and 36 digs and finished with a .360 hitting percentage.
 
Sabrina Malcolm and Kaitlyn Ferguson lead the Tribe in kills, with Amy Schwem and Minnick back-to-back in assists. On defense Anna Porter leads the way with 81 kills and Malcolm leads the team with 14 blocks.

Since 2008 the Hawks have played the Tribe three times with a 1-2 record, Maryland Eastern Shore swept the match last time out in 2017.
 
Radford has seen the full span off opponents, playing against Power 5 Rutgers, the MEAC's Morgan State and started off their season in Eastern Kentucky. While the Highlanders were able to defeat Rutgers in five sets, they lost to both Towson and Princeton in just three.
 
Last season, Radford went 6-22 (4-11 Big South) but looks much different in 2022 with eight freshmen recruits and six transfers. Crystal Childs from Clemson and Sophie Paspal from Hartford are already making their impact sitting at one and three on the team in kills, Fiona Baker from Florida Southwestern leads the team in assists.
 
Defensively, Tori Britton leads the team in blocks with Paspal right behind.

The Hawks have seen Radford twice since 2008, winning both matches.
 
Tournament Info
 
Game Schedule
 
Friday, September 9, 1:00 p.m.: George Mason vs Radford
Friday, September 9, 5:00 p.m.: Maryland Eastern Shore at William & Mary
Saturday, September 10, 11:00 a.m.: Radford vs Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES home)
Saturday, September 10, 2:00 p.m.: George Mason at William & Mary
 
Both home games for William & Mary will be broadcast live on FloSports and Live Stat links are available on www.easternshorehawks.com.
 
Follow the action on Twitter via @ESHawksVBall.