UMES Volleyball Wins Henson's Hawk Invite

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PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland -- A grueling weekend went the way of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore volleyball team on Saturday (Sept. 8). The Hawks won their finale against the Hampton Pirates 3-1 (23-25, 25-16, 25-22, 25-11) to claim The 2018 Henson's Hawk Invitational at the William P. Hytche Athletic Center.

"We proved this weekend that we can handle adversity." Hawks coach Trevor Callarman said. "We battled back in different sets and executed in tough situations."

Senior Lucia Babic (Sisak, Croatia) earned her 1,000 career kill at the 18-7 mark in set two, becoming the fifth player in Hawk history to reach the achievement. She finished the match with 16 kills and a .438 hitting percentage.

`It takes a lot of hard word to reach this mark." Babic said. "My teammates helped a lot in making this happen, and winning certainly helps!"

Babic currently trails Jana Milin, Whitney Johnson, Caylin Woodward, and Maline Vaitai on the school's kill list. She stands 70 kills short of Vaitai for fourth place.

"Congrats to Lucia on her 1,000th kill." Callarman said. "She is the epitome of what it means to be a Hawk and has earned this achievement."

Other top performers for the Hawks included a double-double of 13 kills and 10 digs by senior Rachel Kayongo (Northridge, California), and nine digs from senior Koya Sowells (Missouri City, Texas). Babic, Kayongo and Sowells were all named to The Henson's All-Tournament Team.

The Hawks achieved their highest attack percentage of the year with a .337 average. That is the highest average since November 10th of last year.

Hampton (5-5) won the first set, thanks to a ferocious six point rally with Sasha Saric on the service. Maryland Eastern Shore (3-6) countered with a decisive nine point win in set two.

The Shore built up a 15-9 lead, then fended off a Pirate attack to take a 2-1 lead with a three point set win. In set four, the Hawks' early edge stood up. After Hampton tied the score at 17 all, Eastern Shore took two of the next three volleys to win, 25-21.

The upcoming week will be a busy one for the Hawks. They will challenge Lehigh on Tuesday (Sept. 11) in Bethlehem before traveling to Colorado for the Denver Invitational next weekend.

The Henson's All-Tournament Team
Lucia Babic (MVP) - Maryland Eastern Shore
Rachel Kayongo - Maryland Eastern Shore
Koya Sowells - Maryland Eastern Shore
Kyndall Nicholas - Hampton
Sasha Saric - Hampton
Sidney Colvey - St. Francis Brooklyn
Kyra Marshall - South Carolina State

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS