Sophomore Christine Edwards and Caylin Woodward each had double-doubles as Maryland Eastern Shore swept Gardner-Webb, 3-0 (25-23, 27-25, 25-12), at the GWU Runnin' Bulldog Classic at Paul Porter Arena Friday.
Edwards led all players with 14 kills and added 11 digs while Woodward chipped in with 13 and 11, respectively, to help UMES move to 3-2 on the season. Gardner-Webb fell to 0-4 with the loss.
The Hawks hit an impressive .373 in the match with just 10 errors and held the Bulldogs to .184 with 15 errors.
This week's MEAC Rookie of the Week Bella Jade Romero collected a match-high 39 assists and also hit a team-best .667 with four kills on six attempts. Senior Whitney Johnson had eight kills and four digs, hitting .350.
The first game was tight with neither team earning so much as a two-point lead until UMES went up 12-10, on a kill by Johnson and an attack error by GWU's Melissa Ritchie.
The game was tied at 14 as the Bulldogs scored four of the next six points, three of which on kills by Richie, Laura Wilcox and Molly Rhyne.
The teams traded points, when at 18-18, Edwards served up one of her team-leading three aces in the match to give the Hawks the advantage. A Gardner-Webb error followed, forcing a timeout.
After a service error from each team out of the break, another Johnson kill from Romero made it 22-20. Woodward followed with a kill of her own for a 23-21 lead before Wilcox and Edwards traded points.
Redshirt junior Samantha Chukwura closed the game out with a kill to put the Hawks up, 1-0.
The Bulldogs opened the second game with a four-point run on two kills by Evan Moffitt, an ace by Wilcox and a UMES error but the Hawks responded to knot the game at seven with two consecutive Edwards aces.
Johnson gave UMES a 10-8 lead with a kill and forced another Gardner-Webb timeout. GWU then took six-of-seven points for a 14-11 lead, capping the run with a Richie ace.
Woodward and Johnson combined to tie the game, 14-14, with a kill apiece and a Johnson ace. Neither team got more than a two-point lead the rest of the game.
The Bulldogs erased the Hawks' 22-20 advantage with a Wilcox kill and Woodward attack error and GWU led 25-24 going into a UMES timeout. The Hawks regrouped, though, and took the game with an Edwards kill from Romero and consecutive attack errors from Carolina Solano.
UMES cruised to victory in the third game, opening an 8-3 lead at the first Gardner-Webb timeout. The Hawks held a 19-10 lead when the Bulldogs took their second break of the game and only allowed a Moffitt kill and Johnson error the rest of the way.
Rhyne led Gardner-Webb with 11 kills and a .474 attack percentage, while Regina Feagin topped the team with 25 assists and nine digs.
UMES is back on the court at 5 p.m. on Friday to face Wofford.