FRANKFORT, Kentucky — Closing out a tri-match against the host Kentucky State Thorobreds, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore bounced back from an opening loss to take its second matchup in convincing fashion, 3-0. 

The Score 

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (8-4) - 3 

Kentucky State Thorobreds (5-8) - 0

(25-12, 25-15, 25-18) 

How It Happened 

The Hawks jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead before Kentucky State responded with a pair of points of its own to open the match. The Thorobreds kept pace with the Hawks through the opening several exchanges, though UMES broke open the set with a 4-0 run with Gabriel McWhite starting it off with a kill followed by a Tavion Ford ace, an attacking error by Kentucky State and a combo block from Nikilas Blumenstock and John Howard III to take a 10-5 lead. While each side traded a few points following that run, the Hawks went on another extended run of seven straight points to take a 19-7 lead. Howard finished off the set with a final kill to give UMES the 1-0 lead on a 25-12 win in the first set. 

For the second straight set, UMES went on the board first. Though Kentucky State tied the set on an ensuing service ace, the Hawks jumped out to a commanding 6-1 lead on a 5-0 run with a kill coming from Ford, a block from Ford and Chase Valentine, and a trio of errors on the part of the Thorobreds. The Hawks strengthened their hold on the lead with another 4-0 run to take a 12-6 lead with Blumenstock recording a kill before blocking a shot to start the run. UMES went on another 4-0 run before capping the set with a pair of 3-0 runs, including the final three points of Set 2 coming courtesy a kill from McWhite and Curtis Tom, as well as an attacking error from Kentucky State. 

The Thorobreds got on the board first in Set 3 before UMES tied the set. The final set inevitably ran the closest of any in the match, though UMES took the early lead with a 3-0 run to hold a 4-2 advantage. Kentucky State tied the game at 6-6, but it marked the last exchange the two sides were tied as UMES took the next point with a kill from Blumenstock and never relinquished the lead the remainder of the match. Closing out the match, UMES kept its distance before finishing on a 2-0 run capped by a service ace from Drew Johnson to bring the Hawks' night to a close. 

The Numbers 

• The Hawks kept a relatively clean sheet with only two attacking errors. Kentucky State committed 29 attack errors. 

• Tavion Ford and Gabriel McWhite led UMES in kills as each recorded five. Nine Hawks got on the board with a kill through the match. 

• UMES maintained a kill percentage of 43.3% to Kentucky State's -7.3%. 

• Assists were limited 25 total for UMES. Curtis Tom and Kenyon Haynes led the Hawks with 13 and eight, respectively. 

• Curtis Tom and Tavion Ford led UMES in digs with four while a trio of Hawks recorded three with Jordan Brockman, Romel McCloud and Jeremy Coleman hitting the mark. 

• Chase Valentine notched six total blocks for UMES while Nikilas Blumenstock stuffed another four shots. 

Up Next 

The Hawks finish their weeklong road trip at Central State Saturday, February 14, at Central State in Wilberforce, Ohio. 

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).