Oct. 4, 2009

Final Stats

HAMPTON, Va. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks proved to be too much for the North Carolina Central University Eagles, cruising to a 3-0 victory in the Battle of the Birds Sunday afternoon at Holland Gym on the campus of Hampton University. UMES took the win by scores of 25-12, 25-14 and 25-19.

The Eagles faced a tough defense in the Hawks, who held them to below zero in hitting percentage. UMES allowed only 20 kills and forced 21 Eagle errors. Belinda Behncke-Biney led the team in kills with nine and hit .200 in the match, while Avaniki Campbell added four kills. Behncke-Biney and Campbell accounted for more than half of the Eagles' offense.

As a team, the Eagles had only 17 assists. Kiara Brown had 12 assists, while Cara Hill collected five. Behind the service line, NCCU had four service errors and only two service aces, which came from the hands of Aurora Baker and Hill.

In a match where the Eagles struggled to find their offense, they still managed to come out on top in the blocks column. UMES struggled on the net with only 1.5 total blocks. NCCU had 4.0 blocks in the match, one which was a solo block by Aqiyla Gomez. Campbell led the team in blocks once again with two assisted.

Off the net, NCCU struggled in their defensive efforts. The Eagles dug up 25 digs with Raven King leading the way. King recorded a team-high nine digs and was assisted by Behncke-Biney with five.

The Eagles' had trouble stopping the power of the Hawks' offense, allowing 37 kills off a .244 hitting percentage. Outside hitter Christine Edwards led the Hawks with a match-high 14 kills and hit .321 with only five errors on 28 total attempts. UMES had two players record double-digit digs, which made up for half of the Hawks' defense.

Caylin Woodward had 12 digs, followed by Karin Vikterlof with 10. The Hawks tallied 41 digs, which outnumbered the Eagles by 16. Setter Jade Bella Romero contributed 31 of the Hawks' 33 assists. Vikterlof was not only strong on defense, but she dominated from the service line with five of UMES' eight service aces.

NCCU dropped to 6-16 on the season, while UMES improved to 11-6 on the season. The Eagles will have an opportunity to seek revenge on the Hawks when they face each other once again on Nov. 14 in Princess Anne, Md. UMES improved their advantage in the series to a perfect 3-0 against NCCU.

The Eagles will conclude their doubleheader at 6 p.m. this evening when they face the Pirates of Hampton University. Hampton and NCCU will face each other in a rematch, after battling each other a little over a week ago in the NCCU Volleyball Tournament, where the Eagles took second place. NCCU defeated Hampton, 3-1.

For more information on Eagles volleyball, visit the official website of NCCU Athletic at www.NCCUEaglePride.com.