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In the first set, the Lady Rattlers wasted no time coming out with four straight points after UMES scored the first point of the game. Maria Ceccarelli scored four of the next five points, with Andrea Soriano scoring the other point. The Lady Rattlers would hit their stride as a team, spreading the duties around as Katherine Huanec, Joanie DelCastillo and Marija Jovanovic got in the action with kills.
The Hawks, would make a run midway through the game, scoring four straight points, causing FAMU coach Tony Trifonov to call a timeout to regroup. The Rattlers broke the huddle and came back with a kill by Jovanovic to make the score 20-12. The game was a back-and-forth match, but the Rattlers overall team effort proved too much as they won the game 25-15.
Ceccarelli led the Rattlers in the first game with five kills, with Huanec and Jovanovic adding three and two respectively. Setter Diana Gonzalez had 10 assists for the game.
In set two UMES jumped out to a 2-1 lead, but FAMU would hold them close and tie the game at 2-2. The Lady Rattlers would go down 5-4 as the Hawks kept pace with the Lady Rattlers. The evenly matched Rattlers and Hawks could not pull away from one another as the Hawks went up to a four-point lead, but the Rattlers would pull to within one point. The Hawks jumped to a 16-11 lead, but again Trifonov called a timeout and the Lady Rattlers responded with two points. The Hawks again built up a six-point lead at 20-14, behind UMES' Saitaua Iosia, who had eight kills to that point.
They would go on to win set two, 25-17, behind a strong effort from Iosia and teammate Maline Vaitai, who had five kills. Jessica Vicic had 19 assists for the Hawks in the first two sets.
In the third set, the Rattlers and Hawks played to a 4-4 tie, before UMES rattled off three straight points to take a 7-4 lead over FAMU. UMES would continue to press the Lady Rattlers behind Iosia and Vaitai, leading 18-15 midway through the set. Ceccarelli continued to rack up kills with 14 at that point, while Jovanovic and Huanec added seven each. The Rattlers called timeout to regroup with at score 21-18, but solid play by the Hawks prevailed as they won set#3 by a 25-21 score.
FAMU and UMES were very evenly matched from the start. Team kills leaders Iosia (UMES) and Ceccarelli (FAMU), each had 15 kills through three games. The Lady Rattlers were not able to solve the runs by the Hawks
The Rattlers started the fourth set inspired as they went on a 5-0 run to start the fourth set. Jovanovic found her stride with four straight kills for the Lady Rattlers. Unfortunately, the Hawks kept coming, getting it to 5-4 out of a timeout. The Rattlers would continue to press and prevail 25-18 to force the fifth and deciding set. The Lady Rattlers got balanced scoring as Ceccarelli accumulated 19 kills, Jovanovic had 15 and Huanec had 10 to this point.
The fifth and deciding set showed how close the teams were as several ties ensued in the game. The first significant lead was the Hawks taking an 11-7 lead, prompting Trifonov to rally his troops in a timeout. The Lady Rattlers could not manage a well-needed run to keep pace with the Hawks, as UMES prevailed as the 2011 MEAC Champions.
STATS:
Kills: Ceccarelli 22, Jovanovic 19, Huanec 11, Barrera 6, Gonzales 4, Soriano1.
Assists: Gonzales 53, marquez 3Jovanovic/Del Castillo 1
Digs: Marquez 25, Gonzales 9, Ceccarelli 7, Davis/Del Castillo 4, Jovanovic/Barrera/Huanec 3, Soriano 2
The Lady Rattlers are currently 13-13, with one regular season conference loss. The Lady Rattlers will travel to Tampa on Wed., to face the University of South Florida in their season finale.
