Hawks fall in regular season finale to Delaware State; turn focus towards MEAC Tournament


PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland - The Hawks of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore lost their final regular season match of the year to Delaware State in four sets on Friday.


The Hawks, who honored four graduating players prior to the match, opened the night with a victorious 25-20 set before the Hornets stung back with wins of 25-16, 25-14, and 30-28 to win their fourth straight match.


With the loss, UMES split the season series with DSU as each school won on the road this season. 


DSU finished the match with a .317 hitting percentage on 53 kills, 14 errors and 123 attacks. The Hawks had 48 kills and 22 errors on 153 attacks for a percentage of .170.


Ella Sanders led the Hornets with 16 kills while Alonda Maldonado had 12 kills in the win. 


The Hawks were paced offensively with Ranyla Griggs 11 kills while Lyric Snowden finished with 10 kills. 


The Hawks will enter next week's MEAC Tournament with a 15-11 overall mark and an 8-6 ledger in the MEAC. They are positioned to be the fourth seed. The Hornets enter the tournament as the third seed after finishing the regular season with a 16-12 mark and 9-5 in conference play.


MEAC Tournament play begins next Friday in Dover, Delaware on DSU's campus.


Tournament Central: https://meacsports.com/tournaments/?id=2616