DOVER, Del. --- The No. 3 seed Delaware State women's volleyball team will face off against the No. 6 seed North Carolina Central University in the quarterfinal round of the 2022 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Volleyball Championship on Friday at Memorial Hall.
 
Delaware State capped off the 2022 regular season with a six-game win streak and regular season record of 21-6 and 11-3 in MEAC competition to earn the No. 3 seed in the 2022 MEAC Volleyball Championship. The 2022 regular season marks the second-straight season with at least 20 wins overall and at least 10 wins in MEAC competition.
 
The Hornets were led by All-MEAC First Team middle blocker Alondra Maldonado. Maldonado who was named to the First Team for the second-straight season, led Delaware State in points (305.5) as well as kills (270) during the regular season.
 
Senior middle blocker Sydney Lewis, senior outside hitter Karen Cordero and senior libero Jasmal Cruz all earned All-MEAC Second Team honors for their performances this season
 
Lewis led the league for a good portion of the season in both hitting percentage and blocks (both total and per set average). She broke the all-time record in career blocks earlier this season and will also finish her career as the career leader in blocks per set average.
 
Cordero who led the team in service aces during the regular season (48) also racked up 226 kills and 16 total blocks for a total of 284.0 points in her senior year. Cruz finished with a career-high 401 digs this season averaging 4.27 digs per set. She eclipsed the 1,000-dig mark at West Virginia University earlier this year and broke the career digs record against South Carolina State University. Cruz will also finish her four-year career as the career leader in digs per set average.
 
As for the quarterfinal round of the 2022 MEAC Volleyball Championship that the Hornets will have with the Eagles, Delaware State owned the regular season series winning both matches in shutout fashion and as the Hornets look to repeat that success, they will look to junior outside hitter Valeria Otero who led the way during these two wins.
 
Otero recorded a team-high 24.5 points scoring 4.08 points per set to help her team record two MEAC wins. She also led with 20 kills landing 3.33 kills per set and notched three service aces as well as three assisted blocks.
 
Maldonado and Cordero also chipped in on offense to ensure Delaware State came away with wins during this series. Maldonado tallied 17 kills and four assisted blocks for a total of 19.0 points. While Cordero only notched 14 kills, she accounted for five of Delaware State's 15 service aces and with one assisted block, she finished the series with 19.5 points.
 
Defensively, Delaware State only conceded 43 kills and held North Carolina Central to a .074 hitting percentage during the regular season.
 
Sophomore middle blocker Kelsie Dawson paced the defensive dominance accounting for nine of the Hornets' 13 total blocks.
 
North Carolina Central will look to its standout freshman Kamren Harper and Tori Wilson who were both named to the MEAC All-Rookie Team.
 
Harper served the Eagles as a key source of offense in the regular season series with Delaware State leading the way with 18.5 points by way of a team-best 15 kills, a pair of service aces, one solo block and one assisted block. Wilson contributed eight kills on offense and will look to help North Carolina Central advance in the 2022 MEAC Volleyball Championship.
 
First serve between Delaware State and North Carolina Central from Memorial Hall is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. Live coverage links to follow along with No. 3 Delaware State vs. No. 6 North Carolina Central are below and for more information regarding the 2022 MEAC Volleyball Championship please visit the 2022 MEAC Volleyball Championship tournament central. 


Live Stats - https://dsuhornets.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary


Live Video - https://caccnetwork.com/wilmington/?bfplayvid=465736