The University of Maryland Eastern Shore took one step closer to earning a NEC Tournament berth with a 3-1 win against Manhattan in the final regular season series for both sides. 

The Score 

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (16-10, 6-5 NEC) - 3 

Manhattan Jaspers (9-15, 6-5) - 1 

(25-19, 25-20, 22-25, 25-19) 

How It Happened 

The Hawks earned the first points of the contest as Chase Valentine hammered down a kill to open the first set. Points were evenly shared over the next several exchanges before UMES scored four straight points as Joshua Hightower notched back-to-back kills before Tristan Rowley hit one of his own and finally Manhattan committed an attacking error for the Hawks to take a 8-4 lead. While each side went back to evenly trading points for the next several points, UMES opened its lead with a 6-1 run to take a 22-15 lead. UMES pushed to 24-16 set point with a Rowley kill before Rowley and Valentine combined for a combo block. The Hawks took the first set on a Manhattan service error, 25-19. 

While Manhattan took an early lead in Set 2, 3-1, the Hawks responded in kind with a 3-1 run as Andre Mills notched a kill and service ace while Marcellus Owens earned a kill of his own through that span. UMES opened a lead 8-6 lead on a 4-1 run as Hightower earned a pair of service aces and Rowley another kill. Manhattan briefly took a 13-11 lead, but the Hawks responded, again, with a 5-1 run to take a 16-14 lead. UMES closed out the set with four straight points with a pair of kills from Valentine, one from Hightower, and an attack error from Manhattan. 

Manhattan took the early momentum in Set 3, 4-1. Though UMES tied the score twice – once at 8-8 and again at 9-9 – the Jaspers maintained their lead throughout the set. While Manhattan pushed to set point, UMES pushed the Jaspers to the end with kills from Marcellus Owens and Tristan Rowley before Manhattan took the set, 25-22. 

The fourth set was a slugfest early on as the sides traded the lead six times. The Hawks got some early momentum, though, with a four-point run with a kill from Mills before three straight attacking errors from the Jaspers to give UMES the 10-9 lead. UMES began to pull away in the final set with another four-point run as Owens and Jaxon Clark struck a kill each while Owens dished up a service ace and Valentine earned a block to take 19-15 lead. UMES ultimately took the 25-18 set win to take the match on the heels of a 7-2 run. 

The Numbers 

• Andre Mills led the offensive charge through four sets for the Hawks with his second match in a row with 17 kills. He also added nine digs, two service aces and a block to his night. 

• Chase Valentine also collected double-digit kills with 11. Valentine led UMES defensively with seven total blocks while also recording a dig. 

• Tristan Rowley and Joshua Hightower tied with nine kills while Marcellus Owens notched eight. 

• Setter Kenyon Haynes led the team in assists, setting a new season-high for the second match in a row while notching 52 against Manhattan after putting up 50 the week before in the Hawks' last game against FDU. 

• The UMES liberos notched 15 digs as Jarrett Key totaled 12 and Edward Piloton Jr added three. 

Up Next 

The Hawks face Manhattan Saturday at 2 p.m. for Senior Day before the match. The winner of the match will earn a berth to the NEC Tournament. 

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). 
 

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
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