WEEKEND RECAP: Hawks go 2-1 in road trip to Texas


STEPHENVILLE, Texas - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore finished their recent road trip to Texas with two wins and one loss.


Playing in the Dr. Pam Littleton Classic, UMES opened with a four set win over Texas Southern on Friday.


In Friday's win, UMES took the first set, 25-21. TSU evened up the match with a 25-16 win in the second stanza before UMES wins of 25-17 and 26-24 to seal the victory.


The fourth and final set proved to be a resilient one for the Hawks. Down 24-19, a kill by Soleil Cotton was the beginning of seven straight UMES points to end the match in favor of the Hawks.


Ranyla Griggs led UMES with 11 kills. Charlize Williams and Anjola Omelowa each had three blocks. Nkemjika Ikemefuna recorded 10 digs.


Despite having two routine starters out for Saturday, UMES managed a hard fought win over the University of California Riverside in another four-set match.


UMES took the first two sets with scores of 25-22 and 25-21. UC Riverside claimed the third frame, 25-17, before the Hawks closed the match with a 25-23 victory.


Griggs stepped up with a new collegiate career high 17 kills along with a .303 hitting percentage. Cotton led the UMES block with a season-high six. Setters Romina Vacca and Anisa Dorlouis recorded 17 assists each. Isil Yilmaz had a season-high 16 digs in the win. As a team, UMES servers combined for a season-high 10 aces The win extended the Hawks' winning streak to five matches.


The final match of the weekend featured the Hawks facing host school Tarleton State. TSU edged the Hawks in the first set, 26-24. UMES evened up the score with a 25-23 second set victory but was unable to fully bounce back as TSU went on to 25-22 and 25-13 wins to end the Hawk winning streak.  26 UMES attacking errors and a .150 hitting percentage combined with a TSU balanced attack led by 13 kills from both Rajina Fitzmaurice and Allison Bryant proved to be too difficult for the Hawks to overcome.


Griggs had another 17 kill performance to highlight the UMES offensive efforts. Freshman Anisa Dorlouis led all players with 26 assists.


Now at 7-5 overall and off to the best start since the 2017 season, the Hawks will return home to begin MEAC play when they host Morgan State on Friday at 6 pm.