DUE WEST South Carolina – In the second match in as many days for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks versus Erskine College, the Hawks earned another win, 3-0 to remain undefeated in their inaugural season. 

The Score 

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (3-0) - 3 

Erskine Flying Fleet (2-3) - 0 

(25-22, 26-24, 25-21) 

How It Happened 

The first set began with a trade of points between the Hawks and Flying Fleet before Erskine went on a 6-0 run to take a 11-6 lead. The Hawks incrementally worked their way back with short runs before knotting the score at 19 and finally taking the lead, 20-19, for the first time since they led at 6-5 to begin the set. While Erskine fought back, UMES finished the set on a 4-0 run, earning the 25-22 win in the set. Andre Mills led the Hawks through the set with five kills and Tristan Rowley added another four while Marcellus Owens and Chase Valentine rounded out the attacking with another pair of kills. Kenyon Haynes notched 11 assists with Edward Piloton Jr added another. Through the set, UMES managed a hitting percentage of 57.1% while limiting Erskine to 19.2%. 

Similar to the first set, Set 2 remained at a near deadlock as each side scored six points until the Flying Fleet managed another 4-0 run to go up 10-6. Once again, however, the Hawks steadily put together short scoring runs to remain in contention. UMES trailed until near the end of the set when the Hawks tied the score at 21 before going ahead on the ensuing sequence, 22-21. While each side traded the next few points, before pushing the set into extra play on a 3-0 run to win it 26-24 as Valentine finished off the set with an emphatic block. Joshua Hightower paced the Hawks in the set with five kills, though Mills and Valentine added three each while Owens and Rowley each scored a pair of kills. 

In the third set, each side traded points until the Hawks went on their own 4-0 run early on to take a 10-6 lead. While Erskine scored a pair of points, UMES continued its offensive momentum on a 7-3 run to lift the Hawks to a comfortable margin, 18-12. The Hawks maintained a three-point margin of a lead the remainder of the third set before Rowley drilled a final kill to close out the set 25-21. 

The Numbers 

• Andre Mills led UMES in kills for the second straight match as he notched 14, including a service ace, while also recoring three digs and a block. 

• Tristan Rowley hit double digits in kills with 10 while adding two blocks and four digs. 

• Kenyon Haynes paced the Hawks with 34 assists while adding a trio of blocks and digs. 

• Chase Valentine led the Hawks in blocks with five total while Marcellus Owens, Kenyon Haynes and Joshua Hightower each added three. 

• As a team, UMES held a hitting percentage of 46.8% for the match compared to Erskine's 18.0%. The Hawks hit above 50% in both of the first two sets with a 57.1% then 53.6%. 

• The UMES liberos combined for seven digs as Jarrett Key notched five and Edward Piloton Jr. recorded another two. 

Up Next 

The Hawks' next games will come on the road in Farifax, Virginia, for a pair of neutral site matches against Ball State and University of Mount Olive on January 30 and 31 at George Mason University. 

Follow Along 

Keep up with the latest from UMES men's volleyball on UMESHawkSports.com and by following along on X (@UMESHawksMVB) and Instagram (@umeshawksmvb).