Volleyball MEAC Media Relations

UMES HEAD COACH DON METIL EARNS 100TH CAREER WIN

Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) topped Howard 3-0 (30-24, 30-25, 30-26). The win was the 100th victory for head coach Don Metil and gave the Hawks a 4-0 record in the MEAC, extending their win streak to 13 straight matches.

"This was a good win for us," said Metil. "We struggled, but held it together enough to get the win in three."

UMES came out sluggish and allowed the struggling Bison (2-16 1-2 MEAC) to keep it close all match long. The Hawks (15-3, 4-0 MEAC) never trailed in game one after tying it at 2-2 on am Christina Estebane' kill. They increased their lead to seven at 24-17 on one of Caylin Woodward's five total kills.

In game two UMES trailed by as many as four (5-9) but tied it at ten on a Howard error before taking the lead for good. In game three it was a little worse as Howard jumped out to a seven point lead at 9-2 on a Gazelle D'Artois service ace. UMES rebounded to rattle off four straight points to make it 6-10 and then tied it at 12 on a Elyssa Lee attack error.

Despite a slow start the Hawks still managed to get 17 kills from Whitney Johnson and served up 13 aces as a team. UMES leads the nation in that category and improved on their average tonight. Woodward had five of those aces while Adora Luster had three.

The Hawks only hit .245, a little lower than their average but out swung the Bison as they mustered .158. Howard was led by Morgan Maxwell with 12 kills. Holiday Eller and Samantha Chukwura both posted seven kills apiece while Estebane' added 31 assists and six kills. Woodward led all diggers with nine.

"I am very pleased that I can get my 100th win here at UMES," said Metil when asked about his accomplishment. "I want to thank the administration and the players who made it possible.
Everyone in the Athletic Department has worked hard to make it happen. I thank them," he added.

UMES now faces two tough MEAC tests as they host Morgan State Saturday, October 6th at noon, and travel to Delaware State on Sunday the 7th at 5:00 pm. The Hawks have topped both teams this season but dropped a game to both, winning each 3-1.