HAWKS TAKE DOWN WILDCATS IN THREE SETS
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – For the third time this weekend the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) volleyball squad defended their home court, defeating MEAC foe Bethune-Cookman (BCU) in three sets in a non-conference bout during the Best Western Wild Weekend. The win gives the Hawks their first record over .500 at 7-6, while the Wildcats fall to 2-11 after sweeping two matches in Princess Anne yesterday.
An 8-2 run gave UMES the one hundered mile per hour start they wanted, and the first set belonged almost exclusively to them. Junior Ashley Smith (Huntley, Ill.) drove the Hawks’ offense in the early part of the set with six kills, and senior Ksenia Sukhareva (Moscow, Russia) supplied three more kills in the second half of the set. In the end the Hawks easily finished off the Wildcats for a 25-15 win.
BCU fought hard for a closer match in set two, rallying from an early 7-3 deficit to pull within one at 11-10. A kill by freshman Kirstin Fink (Tucson, Ariz.) thwarted the Wildcat charge and began an 8-3 run to take command of the second set. A service ace by Fink and three BCU errors with Smith at the serve position aided the rally. The set finished at 25-16 with the Hawks on top again.
UMES looked to make even quicker work of the Wildcats in set three, storming out to a 5-1 advantage. But BCU proved they had one more fight left in them by racing back to pull even at 15 points apiece. Two kills by Smith drove the Hawks lead back up to two and after two errors by the Wildcats, Smith supplied an ace to up the lead to four. While BCU tried once more to come back by cutting the lead in half, the Hawks used a kill by Fink and a combined block from Fink and fellow freshman Alana Polk (Houston, Tex.) to complete the match with a 25-21 third set score.
For complete story, visit www.umeshawks.com
FAMU Volleyballers win two at Auburn Invite
AUBURN, Ala. (Sept. 20) – The FAMU Women’s Volleyball team finally had a breakthrough into the win column Saturday, winning their final two matches in the Auburn UniversityInvitational in Auburn Arena.
After dropping a 3-0 opening match Friday to host Auburn, FAMU (2-10), scored decisive 3-1 victories over Northwestern (La.) State and Jacksonville (Ala.) State Saturday.
Junior Ginna Lopez-Chavez and freshman Pamela Soriano were named to the Auburn University Invitational All-Tournament Team.
Lopez-Chavez, a first-team All-MEAC performer a year ago, and a preseason 2014 All-MEAC pick, had 33 kills in the tournament, including 25 combined against Northwestern State and Jacksonville State Saturday.
For complete story, visit www.famuathletics.com
HAWKS FALL AS CAMPBELL DENIES UMES WEEKEND SWEEP
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – Seeking a sweep in the Best Western Wild Weekend, the host University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) had the Campbell Camels standing in their way. An early set win seemed destined to lead the Hawks to a match win. However, the Camels would strike back and win the next three sets for a 3-1 match win over UMES. Campbell improved to 8-7 while the Hawks fell to 7-7. Campbell would win the tournament while the Hawks finished in second.
UMES seized control of the first set midway through when a kill by senior Ksenia Sukhareva (Moscow, Russia) tied the score at 11. After a Campbell kill, freshman Kirstin Fink (Tucson, Ariz.) gained the rally back to re-tie at 12 and begin a 5-0 run to give UMES a four point advantage. The Hawks and Camels would trade points with two kills coming from junior Ashley Smith (Huntley, Ill.) and a third from sophomore Haley Robinson (Honolulu, Hawaii) before the Hawks pushed to take the set. Late in the match, Smith contributed an ace and Sukhareva added three kills, aiding UMES to a 25-16 win in the set.
Unfortunately the Hawks were unable to ride the momentum into the second set. Campbell jumped out to an early advantage of 6-4 and kept it from there. The Camels ultimately used a 7-0 run to overwhelm the Hawks in set two by a 25-15 score.
Smith sought to put the Hawks back on top in set three with her serves, and along with kills from Fink, Sukhareva, and freshman Alana Polk (Houston, Tex.), the Hawks led early at 6-1. But a 4-0 Campbell run nearly leveled the score and they would eventually grab the lead at 11-10. When the Camels drove the lead to four at 22-18, the Hawks would rally to tie the score with kills by Robinson, Polk, Fink and Smith. When the Hawks gained a 24-23 lead to force a set point, the Camels responded with a kill, a forced error and an ace for a 26-24 win.
For complete story, visit www.umeshawks.com
BCUVolleyball Drops Two At UMES
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – After two wins on Friday, B-CU settled for a .500 finish at the Best Western Wild Weekend as host UMES downed the Lady Cats 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-21) while Rider took a 3-1 (25-18,24-26,25-20,25-22) decision.
The Lady Cats (2-12) won the second set against Rider, getting kills from Lauren Turner and Rhea Simon to pull away from a 24-24 tie. In the third set, B-CU cut a five-point Rider lead down to one of three occasions, the last at 21-20 before Rider closed the set with a four-point run.
B-CU closed a 21-14 deficit and tied it at 22-22 on a Delicia Pierre kill in the fourth set, but Rider clinched the match with three straight points.
Pierre had 13 kills and Simon 10 for the Lady Cats, while setter Hazel Ortiz Rosado posted a double-double of 32 assists and 10 digs. Normarie Rolon and Rechez Lindsay had 13 and 10 digs, respectively.
For complete story, visit www.umeshawks.com
Coppin State Recap
TUCSON, Ariz. – The Coppin State volleyball team dropped a 3-0 decision to Tulane University Saturday afternoon in a non-conference match in the Wildcat Classic at the University of Arizona’s McKale Center.
The Eagles (6-7) fell to the visiting Green Wave 25-11, 25-22, and 25-15. Senior Ariel Richard led the team with 18 kills and a .351 hitting percentage. She now has 1,044 kills for her impressive career. The 18 kills were three shy of tying of her season-high achieved against Saint Peter’s on Sept. 6.
Junior Chelsee Sauni tallied 34 of Coppin State’s 36 assists on the day. Sauni has 2,322 career assists. Junior Cindy Okpegbue added seven kills to raise her career total to 689. Senior Gabrielle Otero had a team-high 12 digs to up her school-record total to 1,408. Bailee Jackson and Nicole Malave-Adams combined for 15 digs for the Eagles. Kendra Ireigbe recorded three blocks.
Sarah Ray tied Richard’s match-high 18 kills to lead Tulane. The Green Wave were also paced by Miah Diirell (15 digs) and Ally Frank (match-high 40 assists).
For complete story, visit www.coppinstatesports.com
Aggies Give Team Effort At Courtyard Classic
GREENSBORO – The North Carolina A&T volleyball team faced a pair of setbacks to host Wofford and USC-Upstate on the final day of the Spartanburg Courtyard Classic at Benjamin Arena.
The Aggies (0-15) opened the day with a 3-0 (25-18, 18, 20) loss to Wofford (5-7). Later in the evening, USC-Upstate (9-5) handed A&T a 3-1 (25-22, 25-23, 25-23, 29-27) upset in the finale.
Junior Ashley Johnson had a great night defensively against USC-Upstate and tabbed a career-high 33 digs. Freshman Samara Brown who seems to be adjusting well into the Aggies starting lineup, recorded her first career double-double with 16 kills and 18 digs.
Brown also racked up nine assists and six block assists. Junior Brooke Stamnes also finished with 16 kills and 18 digs. Junior Te'Borah Hawkins-Hollingsworth added 10 kills and nine block assists while sophomore Liz Martino tallied 31 assists and 10 digs for her fourth double-double of the year.
For complete story, visit www.ncataggies.com
Eastern Kentucky Hands NSU 3-0 Loss
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Junior Jessica Johnson tallied 16 kills in a losing effort as the Norfolk State volleyball team fell in its last non-conference match of the year, 3-0 to Eastern Kentucky at the Carolina Classic at South Carolina on Saturday morning.
Johnson, who emerged as the team’s offensive leader through the first four weekends of the year, hit .303 and was also joined in double figures in kills by sophomore Tori Tulensru with 10. The Spartans, though, fell by scores of 25-19, 28-26 and 25-22 to drop to 0-12 on the year.
The Colonels hit .330 as a team, with Rachel Vick and Celina Sanks combining for 23 kills. The Spartans attacked at a .173 clip at the Carolina Volleyball Center.
After Eastern Kentucky (10-6) pulled away in the first set, the Spartans struck back in the second. Johnson and senior Kylee Thiim each had a pair of kills to give NSU a 9-2 lead. The Colonels immediately responded with a 10-2 run to grab the lead back, but the Spartans battled back and went ahead by one on a kill by Tulensru.
For complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com
Women's Volleyball Swept on Final Day of NC State Courtyard Midtown Invitational
RALEIGH, NC --- The Howard women's volleyball team was swept in its final two games of the North Carolina State/Courtyard Midtown Invitational, losing a pair of 3-0 contests to Coastal Carolina and the host Wolfpack of NC State.
Howard (7-7) was represented on the All-Tournament team by senior Assata Conway and sophomore Katherine Broussard.
For complete story, visit www.hubison.com
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