DOVER, Del., Nov. 17, 2023 – Nkemjika Ikemefuna led the way with 19.5 points as the University of Maryland Eastern Shore completed the reverse sweep against Norfolk State 3-2 (26-28, 22-25, 25-14, 25-23, 15-13) in the 2023 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Volleyball Championship quarterfinals at Memorial Hall Gym.
The No. 4 -seeded Hawks (16-11) will take on the top seeded Eagles of Coppin State in Saturday’s 5:30 p.m. semifinal and will be a rematch of 2022’s semifinal match.
Derionah Abner, a Second Team All-MEAC selection, had 15 kills and hit .256 for the match, while also putting up seven digs. Ikemefuna added 15 kills as well and four service aces, while Ranyla Griggs added 13 kills and seven digs.
Norfolk State started out the first set taking an 8-4 lead on a kill from MEAC Rookie of the Year and First-Team honoree Gabrielle Gilbert. NSU continued to lead UMES 14-8 following an attack error from Ranyla Griggs. A bad set from Md. Eastern Shore’s Romina Vacca put the Spartans ahead by seven points, 20-13, forcing a Hawks timeout. The Hawks clawed their way back into the set tying the score at 24 all and then took the lead 25-24 following a 12-4 rally. The score knotted twice more, at 25 and 26 all, before the Spartans were able to put down back-to-back kills from Gilbert to win set one 28-26 and take a 1-0 lead in the match.
Set two was equally as nail biting as the teams remained neck and neck through the first nine points in each direction. Norfolk State opened a three-point lead 14-11 on a kill from Gilbert but back-to-back service aces from Vacca evened the score at 14 all to reset the score. The Spartans pulled back ahead by five points, 20-15, following a kill from Adlene Jideofor forcing a Hawks timeout. Maryland Eastern Shore battled back to trail by one point, 22-21, on a kill from Soleil Cotton causing NSU to call a timeout. Two UMES errors and a Gilbert kill later, NSU picked up the set two win 25-22 and pulled ahead 2-0 in the match score.
After a five-minute intermission between sets, the Hawks opened set three on an 8-2 run that saw five kills and a service ace fall in favor of the Maroon and Gray. A kill from Gilbert put the Spartans down by four, 9-5, however, the Hawks pulled away again on a 7-2 run to lead 16-7 on a double block from Anjola Omolewa and Derionah Abner. Norfolk State was able to put down seven more points the remainder of set three, but Maryland Eastern Shore scored nine to claim set three 25-14 forcing a fourth set.
The energy in the gym switched in favor of the Hawks who started off set four on a 4-0 run. The Spartans scored three in a row to pull within one, 4-3, but a 7-3 run for Maryland Eastern Shore put the score at 11-6. NSU made two more runs pulling within a point, 15-11 and 16-15, before UMES went on a 4-0 run taking a 20-15 lead. The Spartans rallied going on an 8-4 run cutting the Hawks lead to one-point (24-23), again. Maryland Eastern Shore got the final point down on a kill from Shanti Ramdeem to win 25-23 and even the match score at two sets each.
That momentum carried into the fifth set, as Maryland Eastern Shore opened with a 5-2 run before Norfolk State battled back taking a 6-5 lead. The teams traded five points, going back and forth knotting the score three times to put it at eight-all. Norfolk State went on a 4-2 run taking the 12-10 advantage before a kill from Griggs spurred the Hawks 5-1 rally clinching the come from behind victory to advance to the next round.
Gilbert led the match and Spartans (9-14) with 21 kills. Shonte Seale tallied 13 kills while Alexa Harris added 12. Sydney McCree had a match-high 36 aces and added 11 digs for a double-double.
About the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) is in its 53rd year of intercollegiate competition with the 2023-24 academic school year. Located in Norfolk, Va., the MEAC is made up of eight outstanding historically black institutions across the Atlantic coastline: Coppin State University, Delaware State University, Howard University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Morgan State University, Norfolk State University, North Carolina Central University and South Carolina State University.