Sophomore outside hitter Christine Edwards recorded a match-high 12 kills to lead Maryland Eastern Shore to a 3-0 I25-16, 25-23, 25-14), win over Navy on Day One of the Delaware State Invitational at Memorial Hall Friday.
The win gives the Hawks (6-3) victories in five of six matches and is their first against the Midshipmen (1-7) since a sweep at Navy on Oct. 21, 2003.
Freshman setter Bella Jade Romero led all players with 30 assists while also tallying team highs of five digs and three service aces. Senior hitter Whitney Johnson chipped in with eight kills, a .357 attack percentage, an assist and a dig for UMES.
As a team, the Hawks posted a .373 attack percentage (39-11-75) and held Navy to .281 (26-10-57). UMES also held the advantage in aces, 10-5.
Redshirt junior Samantha Chukwura broke a 6-6 tie in the first game with a kill which set off a 7-3 run and ended with a kill from senior Caylin Woodward and a 13-9 UMES lead.
The Hawks didn't trail the rest of the game, holding Navy to seven more points in taking the 1-0 advantage.
The second game featured a total of seven ties before UMES could squeak out a two-point win. The Hawks' largest deficit was three at 14-11 and they led by as many as five (24-19) on an attack error by Navy's Carolyn Ewert.
UMES hit a robust .478 - its best single-game mark of the match - in the third game and cruised to the win.
The Hawks notched seven of the first eight points and opened a 13-4 bulge after four consecutive Navy errors.
The Mids closed to within eight at 17-9, but UMES continued its hot hitting, putting down six more kills to close the match.
Ewert led Navy with eight kills on 13 attacks, while Jenny Rudewicz had a team-high 20 assists and eight of total digs. Abbie Merkl was Navy's top server with four aces.
UMES faces La Salle at 11 a.m., followed by Norfolk State 3 p.m., Saturday.