BALTIMORE, Md. - The six-seeded Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (11-17, 7-7) dominated the three-seeded Morgan State Bears (11-14, 8-6) in straight sets at the Coppin State Physical Education Complex to advance to the MEAC Tournament SemIfinals.

The Score

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks - 3

Morgan State Bears - 0

(25-22, 25-21, 25-17)

How It Happened

Maryland Eastern Shore came out on fire, racing to a 10-2 lead in the opening set. During the great start, the Hawks got kills from Nkemjika Ikemefuna and Jayda Hutchins and a service ace from Karielys Melendez. Although Morgan State fought back to tie the match, 22-22, the Hawks regained their footing. UMES iced the first frame by scoring the final three points, culminating in another service ace by Melendez.

Despite falling behind early in set two, the Hawks ultimately maintained their momentum. Trailing 7-9, the Maroon and Grey, highlighted by four kills from Anjola Omolewa and three kills from Melendez, generated a 12-2  run to take a commanding lead. Even though Morgan State finished the frame scoring eight of the final 10 points, UMES hung on to win set two, 25-21.

The Hawks continued to handle business in the third set, building a 9-3 advantage behind kills from Hutchins, Lilliana Montes, Nkemjika Ikemefuna, and Melendez. Neither team scored more than two consecutive points until the end of the set, in which the Hawks, led by a kill from Omolewa and two service aces from Melendez, ended the match with a 3-0 run.

The Numbers

• The Hawks improve to 3-0 in the Vanessa Faircloth era in MEAC Quarterfinal matches, winning by a combined score of 9-3

• Maryland Eastern Shore's sweep was their second one of the season, joining their 3-0 win at South Carolina State on Sept. 26

• Melendez, who ranked third in the MEAC in service aces coming into the match, paced the Hawks with a season-high seven service aces. This ties the highest amount of service aces that any MEAC women's volleyball player has recorded in a singular match in 2025. She also added nine kills and six digs

• Hutchins tallied a team-high 12 kills

• Kate-Linh Eden led the Hawks with 36 assists. This is her sixth match in a row with 20 or more assists

• Valeria Matias paced UMES with 11 digs

• Lilliana Montes led the Hawks in blocks with three

What Was Said

Up Next

Friday, Nov. 21 | 8 PM | Baltimore, MD | Physical Education Complex

UMES (11-17, 7-7) vs Howard (17-10, 10-4)  | Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+)

MEAC Tournament Semifinal

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