SUMMARY
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore volleyball program fell to Mercer, 3-0, on Wednesday evening in the opening game of its Georgia trip. The Hawks finished one of three games this week all held in Georgia.
THE SCORE
Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks – 0
Mercer Bears – 3
(12-25, 16-25, 21-25)
HOW IT HAPPENED
In Mercer's home opener, the Hawks dropped three straight sets but showed improvement throughout the match, reducing errors and capitalizing on Mercer's mistakes. The Hawks scored 12, 16 and
21 points in the three sets.
In the first set, the Hawks and Bears were neck-and-neck. Senior
Ranyla Griggs scored a kill, assisted by freshman
Jocelyn Torres, to tie the match at 2-2. Griggs and junior
Nkemjika Ikemefuna were instrumental early on, contributing to four of the first five points by the Maroon and Grey. Mercer pulled ahead, however, and won the set as the Hawks made several errors.
The second set saw the Hawks continue to battle, scoring 16 points. After trailing 4-9, UMES mounted a 3-0 run with a kill from Griggs and errors by Mercer. Freshman
Lilliana Montes made an impact with three kills in the latter half of the set.
In the third set, the teams were evenly matched. UMES responded to two attack errors with a 5-0 run led by Griggs and Montes. Montes tied the match at 14-14 with a kill. The set remained competitive until Mercer ultimately won 25-21.
THE NUMBERS
- Torres made her first start for the Hawks, finishing with six assists, bringing her season total to 21.
- Anisa Dorlouis recorded 13 assists, marking her third consecutive game with double-digit assists.
- Valeria Matias had 17 digs, marking her third straight game with double-digit digs, increasing her season total to 55.
- Montes made her first career start in the middle for the Hawks generating six kills and a block leading the team with a .500 hitting percentage.
- Ikemefuna and Griggs led the team in kills with seven, respectively.
UP NEXT
The Hawks (2-1) will face Georgia Southern (2-1) on Thursday, Sept. 5, at 6 p.m. in the Hanner Fieldhouse, kicking off their participation in the GATA Challenge hosted by Georgia Southern University. The match will be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats on gseagles.com.
FOLLOW ALONG
Keep up with the latest from UMES volleyball on UMESHawkSports.com and by following along on Twitter (@UMESHawksVball) and Instagram (@umeshawksvball).