Hawks beat Spartans in Five
2
Norfolk St. Norf 1-15,0-3 MEAC
3
Winner UMES UMES 6-10,3-0 MEAC
Norfolk St. Norf
1-15,0-3 MEAC
2
Final
3
UMES UMES
6-10,3-0 MEAC
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Norfolk St. Norf 25 23 13 26 13 (2)
UMES UMES 23 25 25 24 15 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

Hawks Win Home Opener 3-2 Over Spartans

Maryland Eastern Shore (6-10, 3-0) defeated Norfolk State (1-15, 0-3) in five sets at Hytche Arena.

The Score

Norfolk State Spartans - 2

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks - 3

(23-25, 25-23, 25-13, 24-26, 13-15)

How It Happened

In the opening set, the Hawks, fueled by a strong home crowd, began the match by scoring five of the first six points, highlighted by two kills from Lilliana Montes and a kill from Jayda Hutchins. Norfolk State battled back to tie the match, 10-10, before generating an 11-4 run to build a seven-point advantage. Although UMES cut the deficit to one with a 9-3 run, the visiting Spartans staved off the Hawks for a 25-23 win in set one.

The back-and-forth nature of the match continued into the second set. UMES sprung to a 9-5 advantage behind kills from Nkemjika Ikemefuna, Karielys Melendez, Malaysia Shaw, Montes, and Hutchins. Norfolk State answered with a scoring surge that put them ahead 14-12. The team traded leads twice before UMES delivered the final blow with a 6-2 run to ice a 25-23 win in set two.

The Hawks never trailed in set three, outhitting the Spartans .391-.160 in the frame. Three kills from Shaw headlined UMES' initial 14-5 run to begin the set. The Maroon and Grey later iced a 12-point win by scoring the final five points of the frame, culminating with set-winning kills from both Anjola Omolewa and Kyra Bradford.

Even though the Hawks scored seven of the first nine points in set four, Norfolk State tied the match with an 8-3 run. The Spartans increased their lead to three before UMES clawed back to take a 21-19 advantage. Norfolk State then usurped the momentum of the match, ending the fourth frame with both a 7-3 scoring run and a 26-24 win.

The fifth set was tightly-contested with neither team leading by more than two points throughout the entirety of the frame. With UMES trailing 11-9, Kills from Omolewa, Melendez, and Ikemefuna helped the Maroon and Grey outlast Norfolk State with one final 6-2 scoring run to clinch a 15-13 victory in set five.

The Numbers

  • This is UMES' first 3-0 start in MEAC play since 2017.

  • The Hawks improve to 15-4 in five-set matches under Vanessa Faircloth

  • Montes paced the Hawks with 14 kills. She also led the team with six blocks and three service aces

  • Shaw finished with a team-high .462 attack percentage, generating seven kills and five blocks

  • Omolewa recorded 10 kills on a .400 attack percentage. This is her third double-digit kill match

  • Ikemefuna generated 10 kills, recording her sixth double-digit kill match in her last eight games

  • Hutchins tabbed her third consecutive double-double and fourth on the season with 15 assists and 11 digs. She also added a team-high five service aces

  • Eden paced the Hawks with 19 assists. She also recorded three kills and her first block of the season

  • Matias generated her 14th double-digit dig match this season with 13 digs

Up Next

Sunday, Oct. 5 | 1 p.m. | Washington, D.C. | Burr Gymnasium
UMES (5-10 (2-0)) at Howard 7-5 (1-1) | Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+)

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