UMES Hawks win MEAC Championship Final – Volleyball News
The critical final match of the Mid–Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Championship brought the UMES Hawks in contest with Florida A&M on Sunday, November 20 at the Physical Education Complex at Coppin State University. The University of Maryland Eastern
Shore volleyball team staged a great fight with their opponents and pulled off success by posting a 3-2 (15-25, 25-17, 25-21, 18-25, 15-12) win.
This is the first time in the history of the school’s volleyball program that UMES has made it to the top slot in MEAC Conference Championship. It was also a season finale for UMES, which created an opportunity for Hawks to improve to an overall record of
24-6 on the season. On the other hand, Florida A&M fell to 13-13 on the year.
In addition to the title trophy and prize money, the UMES has also earned an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament with this particular win. UMES will probably find out their opponent in the NCAA Tournament at the end of this week when the field is officially
announced.
Outside hitter (OH) Saitaua Losia of Long Beach California played an instrumental role in UMES victory. She contributed double-double in the match and topped all the scorers. She added 25 kills, three aces, and also helped the team with a pair of vital assists.
Likewise, her teammate Vaitai got into double-double, earning 10 kills, 11 digs, 2 aces and a pair of blocks in the match. Ndidi Ibe notched nine kills and contributed six blocks.
On the other hand, Ceccarelli supported Rattlers with 22 kills, seven digs and a block. Jovanovic and Katherine Huanec added 19 and 11 kills, respectively.
The Rattlers jumped out of the gate with early 5-0 lead and used strong attack from Ceccarelli. In response, the Hawks tried to build momentum but failed to catch up with the opponent. Rattlers kept going with 18-6 lead and dragged UMES under pressure. Lea'Aetoa
and Zoe Bowens of Hawks put up a combined effort and hit some good aces down the opposite half. However, Rattlers maintained their lead and secured opening set at 25-15.
In the following set, Hawks poised their feet in the court and hit convincing shots. Score tied at 5-all before the Hawks put together a 3-0 run and went up. Rattlers lagged behind and tried to bounce back in the game. Nonetheless, Hawks surged ahead with
consecutive points and did not give a chance to Rattlers to come back in the game. Rattlers dropped second set after scoring only 17 points, while UMES hit the equalizer with 25-17 victory.
The next two sets imitated a see-saw battle as both teams staged a back and forth action of volleyball. Hawks continued with same spirit and captured third set (25-21), while Rattlers made a quick move to create the dead-lock of 2-2 by winning fourth set
(25-18).
The decisive final set of the game was full of extreme action, which moved the audience back ‘n’ forth in their seats. The eye-catching action of volleyball finally ended up in UMES’ favour as they earned 3-point advantage in the final set (15-12) and announced
match victory, 3-2.
Tags: