CRESTVIEW HILLS, Kentucky — Kicking off a stretch of five straight road matches, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore earned a 3-1 win at Thomas More Tuesday night as 13 Hawks recorded at least one kill against the Saints.

The Score 

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (7-2) - 3 

Thomas More Saints (0-5) - 0 

(25-13, 25-12, 27-29, 25-16)

How It Happened 

The Hawks got off to a quick start against the Saints with the first two points going the way of UMES courtesy a block from Chase Valentine and a kill from Joshua Hightower. Though the Saints got on the board ensuing position sequence, UMES ripped off four straight points with kills coming from Andre Mills, Tavion Ford, Hightower and Valentine. UMES limited Thomas More to three sequences of back-to-back points while the Hawks went on runs of three, five and another three before closing out the first set, 25-13, on a kill from Marcellus Owens. 

UMES opened the second set with three points before the Saints got on the board. While each side traded points over the next few sequences, the Hawks went on another 3-0 run to take a 9-5 lead. However, UMES cemented its control on the set with a 5-0 run to take a 17-8 lead kick started by a Valentine kill and a service ace from Ford. The Hawks closed out the second set with back-to-back points with Romel McCloud getting a kill and an attack error on the Saints. 

Though Thomas More got on the board with the first point of the third set, but UMES went on a tear as the Hawks scored nine straight points to take a 9-1 lead. Following that run, however, Thomas More leveled the score systematically over the set with runs of five, four and three as both sides became deadlocked at 19-19. The lead was pushed back and forth over the remaining points with Thomas More closing in on taking the set with a pair of points to take a 23-21 lead against UMES. Every point either side got closer to taking the third set was matched by the other. The set went into extra play as neither side could get a two-point advantage until Thomas More went on a 3-0 run to take the set 29-27. 

The fourth set went the way of UMES early on as the Hawks scored the first three points before allowing the Saints on the board. While Thomas More kept pace with UMES through the opening sequences, the Hawks began to pull away in short bursts, beginning with a 3-0 run to give UMES a 10-5 lead. Both sides remained nearly traded point-for-point over the next several minutes while UMES maintained its lead. In the waning minutes of the third set, though, Tristan Rowley kickstarted another 3-0 run for UMES with a kill while he, Valentine and Kenyon Haynes finished off the run with a triple block to take a 21-13 advantage. With a lead in hand, UMES closed out the set and match with back-to-back points from a Valentine kill and a triple block from Ford, Owens and Mills to take the final set 25-16. 

The Numbers 

• Chase Valentine led UMES in kills with 10, though 13 total Hawks recorded a kill against the Saints. Andre Mills recorded nine while Romel McCloud was third for UMES with five. 

• UMES held a kill advantage of 43-28 against the Saints. 

• Kenyon Haynes put up 27 assists for the Hawks, while Curtis Tom added seven more. As a team, UMES recorded 42 assists. 

• The liberos were led by Jarrett Key with 10 digs. 

• Haynes added eight more digs for the Hawks while Joshua Hightower notched another seven. 

• Haynes and Valentine tied for a team-high five blocks while Nikilas Blumenstock added another four. Owens and Tom each recorded three blocks. 

• As a team, UMES held a hitting percentage of 21.4% to the Chargers' -4.1%. 

Up Next 

The Hawks remain on the road with a matchup at Northern Kentucky on Thursday, February 12, at 7 p.m. 

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). 
 

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A post shared by Maryland Eastern Shore Men's Volleyball (@umeshawksmvb)