With a sweep of Manhattan, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore has clinched a berth to the NEC Tournament. The Hawks earned their second straight win against the Jaspers in a 3-1 match on Saturday while celebrating Senior Day. 

The Score 

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (17-10, 7-5 NEC) - 3 

Manhattan Jaspers (9-16, 6-6) - 1 

(25-21, 26-24, 22-25, 25-17) 

How It Happened 

The Hawks took the first point of the match on an Andre Mills kill to set the early tone of the match. Though each side traded points through the first half of Set 1, UMES began to open up its offensive momentum with an 11-2 run kickstarted by senior Tavion Ford's kill and finished by another Mills kill to take a 21-14 lead. Though the Jaspers scored managed to cut into the UMES lead, Joshua Hightower hit the set-winning kill to secure a Set 1 win of 25-21. 

Through the second set, both sides traded points before UMES began to pull ahead with a four-point run highlighter by a combo block from Chase Valentine and Mills before senior Kenyon Haynes notched a service ace as the Hawks moved ahead, 9-6. While UMES continued to pull ahead through the set, Manhattan pressured the Hawks until late in the set as the pair tied the score at 24. Two kills, though, courtesy Valentine and Mills gave the Hawks the Set 2 win in extra time, 26-24. 

Set 3 remained tightly contested throughout the set as neither side relented early on. Manhattan pulled away in the middle of the set, though, to take a 16-12 lead while the Hawks pushed to make a comeback. The Jaspers, however, took the set, 25-22. 

In the fourth set, Manhattan drew the first point, though the Hawks quickly responded on a 4-1 run to take a 4-2 lead. The Hawks opened there lead just over halfway through the set as they went on a 7-2 run to take a 20-15 lead. Though the Jaspers took the next point, they would only score one more after that as UMES earned the 25-17 set win to take the match on a 5-1 run to end the match with Joshua Hightower coming up with each of the Hawks' final five points with four kills and a final solo block to earn the win. 

The Numbers 

• Before the match, the Hawks celebrated its two senior captains for Senior Day: Kenyon Haynes and Tavion Ford. 

• Joshua Hightower set a single-match high for the Hawks with 28 kills while hitting at a 75% clip. He also added a pair of assists, a block and seven digs. 

• Chase Valentine and Andre Mills also hit double digits in kills at 15 and 11, respectively. Mills surpassed 700 career kills with his total. 

• Chase Valentine led the team in blocks with six block assists while Kenyon Haynes added four block assists. 

• Setter Kenyon Haynes set a new career-high for assists with 58 against the Jaspers. This is the third straight match Haynes set a new season-high for assists. 

• The UMES liberos notched nine digs as Jarrett Key totaled eight and Edward Piloton Jr added one. 

Up Next 

The Hawks advance to the NEC Tournament where they will play FDU in the first round of the two-round tournament at hosting St. Francis in Loretto, Pennsylvania. 

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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