PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore volleyball team captured their fourth conference win of the season on Sunday (October 17) when they defeated the Morgan State University Bears in four sets inside the William P. Hytche Center. The scores by set were 25-19, 25-27, 25-16 and 25-22.
Sunday’s victory kept Eastern Shore undefeated at home on the season as they have loss just two sets at home in six contests. The match also marked the team’s first match to go longer than three sets since their September 17 contest with Saint Francis (Pa.)
“It was nice to see how the girls responded after Morgan won the second set,” head coach Trevor Callarman said. “We had a few untimely errors early on (in the match) but it was good to see the team get it done in four.”
In the opening set, the Hawks held a 12-9 lead following two straight kills from sophomore Maya Hendricks. They continued to keep the Bears at bay as their lead would not get smaller than two for the rest of the frame before freshman Charlize Williams got a kill to end the set.
The second set was tight throughout. The frame saw a tie score on 12 occasions and the lead changed seven times. The Shore was two points away from victory at 23-19 after an attack error by MSU. The Bears responded with five straight points to get to set point.
Hendricks would get a kill and junior Derionah Abner followed that up with an ace to bring Maryland Eastern Shore to set point. Morgan State rallied back to grab three straight points as they took the frame and tied the match at one set apiece.
Eastern Shore would commit an error to begin the third set, but answered with three straight to take the lead. That would be the last time in the match that the Hawks would find themselves behind on the scoreboard.
The team held a 7-4 advantage early in the third set. Maryland Eastern Shore would side-out and build off of that to go on a 5-0 run to lead 12-4.
They would continue to keep the pressure on the visitors and held a 22-11 lead late in the set following a block from Williams and sophomore Yazmyn Stewart. Morgan State would not go quietly as they scored three straight points to extend the frame before senior Mauri Carver would get a kill to put the squad up two sets to one.
In the final set, the Hawks jumped out to an 8-1 lead early. MSU would gradually cut into that lead and The Shore’s lead was trimmed to three at 15-12 halfway through the frame. The next few points would go back-and-forth before a 3-0 run put Maryland Eastern Shore up 22-15.
Following an attack error by the Bears, the Hawks were at match point at 24-18. Morgan State then went on to score four straight and forced Callarman to take a timeout. After the break, Eastern Shore would end the match with a kill from senior Marina Cruz.
The Shore finished the match with six players having seven or more kills as the squad had a .300 hitting percentage. Hendricks led the pack with a career-high 15 kills, while Cruz had 12 and Abner finished with 11.
Williams also had her best match in the maroon and gray as she finished with seven kills and a hitting percentage of .500 along with a career-high seven total blocks. Sophomore Jalynn Robinson finished with a double-double as she put up 25 assists and 11 digs.
“Today really showed our depth because we saw that everybody can put the ball away,” Callarman said. “We also had multiple people come in off the bench, like Yazmyn (Stewart) and Sydney Morris, and that only adds to our strength.”
The Hawks are now beginning the second half of the MEAC season as they travel to Norfolk State on October 22 before hosting Howard on October 24.
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