DOVER, Del. — Hannah Sanders collected 10 kills with a .625 attack percentage to help the Delaware State volleyball team rally for a five-set win over the Maryland-Eastern Shore Lady Hawks on Friday at Memorial Hall. The scores were 20-25, 25-17, 23-25, 25-17 and 15-9.
The win moved the Hornets to 18-10 overall and 9-5 in MEAC play. Delaware State is currently ranked fourth in the conference and is headed to the MEAC volleyball tournament.
Aaliyah Mitchell paced the offense with a match-high 17 kills. Amanda Santos Juliao added 11 and Duura Kpea chipped in 10 as Delaware State put four players in double figures in kills. Paige Ahakuelo distributed a team-high 20 assists, while Courtney Nix anchored the defense with a match-high 26 digs and Ahakuelo added 11. Santos Juliao also had a team-high one ace.
The Hornets fell behind early, dropping the opening set 25-20. The set was tied 12 times before Maryland-Eastern Shore took the lead for good at 17-16 and pulled away in the second half.
Delaware State answered by tying the match at 1-1 with a 25-17 win in the second set. The Hornets scored first and never trailed, building a lead of as many as nine points at 22-13 before closing it out. They recorded 16 kills with only two attack errors in the set and hit .359.
The Lady Hawks responded to win the third set 25-23 and put Delaware State in a 2-1 hole. The set featured two lead changes and was tied eight times, and neither team led by more than four points.
The Hornets took control from there. They won the fourth set 25-17 to force a decisive fifth, scoring first and never trailing. Delaware State finished the set strongly, reaching its biggest lead of eight points, as its front row blocked six Maryland-Eastern Shore attacks and the Hornets capitalized on 10 Lady Hawks attacking errors.
Delaware State carried that momentum into the fifth set. After a back-and-forth start that included two lead changes, the Hornets took the lead for good at 5-4 and ran away with a 15-9 victory to take the match 3-2. The front row added four more blocks in the set.
The MEAC volleyball tournament will be held Nov. 20-22, with quarterfinals on Friday, semifinals on Saturday and the championship match on Sunday.
