Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) women's volleyball team held off second place MEAC Northern Division rival Howard 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-14), in a match that marked second year Head Coach Don Metil's 20th straight regular season conference win.  The Lady Hawks (23-8) go into the MEAC Championships in first place in the north, having swept northern division opponents in straight sets.

"We feel confident going into the tournament," said Metil.  "We spread the ball around today.

Everyone knows we have excellent outside hitters, but hopefully they know we also have three great middles and a right side as well."

All six starters recorded kills for the Lady Hawks who hit .306 as a team. Christina Esteban? continued her stellar play, posting game-highs of 25 assists and four aces.  She also finished with seven kills and six digs.  Reigning MEAC Player of the Year Whitney Johnson has been incredibly accurate for the Lady Hawks.  She finished with a game-high 12 kills, hitting 61-percent. Leah Amundson and Caylin Woodward tied for a game-high eight digs.  Woodward tied Esteban? with the game-high four aces.

The second set was the closest of the match, with Howard pulling within one after a kill by Gazelle D'Artois.  UMES responded with a kill by Christine Edwards who then served back to back service aces.  The Lady Hawks never relinquished a lead in the match and posted 11 aces as a team.

D'Artois led the Bison's attack with a team-high six kills.  Grace DeMichelis finished with a team-high 13 assists and Nicole Brown tied Amundson and Woodward for the game-high eight digs.

"This is the first time in UMES history that we have gone 10-0 in conference play without losing a set," said Metil.  His record at UMES is now 25-1 against MEAC opponents.  The Lady Hawks are preparing for the MEAC Championships in Hampton, Va.  The tournament is set for November 14-16 and includes battles between northern and southern division teams for the title and a trip to the NCAA tournament.