UMES Volleyball gears up for 2025 season with high expectations
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – On August 29th, the UMES women’s volleyball team will be opening their 2025 campaign against East Carolina University in Hampton, Virginia.
The Hawks went 12-15 in 2024 with a tough non-conference schedule, including a 6-8 record in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. It was the second year in a row that UMES saw their season end in the MEAC tournament semifinals, and they enter 2025 believing that this is the year they can break through, giving themselves a shot at the MEAC championship and a berth in the NCAA tournament.
Head Coach Vanessa Faircloth said that practicing and playing with energy has always been their calling card, but the gym has been notably loud this preseason. “The gym just feels a little different this year. It’s not something that we’ve been able to put words on, you know, what’s making it different. But practices are really going. The girls are explosive,” Faircloth said, adding that it’s something she thinks will translate well to conference play. “The MEAC is really big on energy. Every game is a rivalry game in the MEAC, so we start from day one to make sure that we’re ready for that excitement, because no matter who’s gym we go into, it’s going to be loud. So we have to be louder.”
The Hawks made it to the MEAC tournament semifinals in 2024 despite being afflicted with a number of key injuries. Now with a rejuvenated roster, Coach Faircloth has her expectations set high, saying, “We absolutely know that we have the talent to make it to the championship game, so that’s where we’re setting our expectation: we’ll be successful during conference, and then we’ll make it to the championship game come MEAC playoffs.”
With a number of new faces–and despite the graduation of star outside hitter Ranyla Griggs–Faircloth was pleased with her group’s preseason progress: “Our first day of competition, where we scrimmaged each other, looked like we did at the end of last season. So that’s always a great thing. Like I said, we’re battling and competing every day and that’s what’s gonna make us better.”
The team is built around its defense; senior libero Valeria Matias suffered one of those key injuries in 2024, her junior season cut short due to injury. Matias led the hawks with 3.8 digs-per-set last year.
With two new freshmen and three transfers on the 2025 roster, Matias understood the gravity of being a leader on a team that has set a high standard for itself. “As a senior, it’s a little bit of pressure because we have to take care of the people that are coming in, [trying to get everybody] to buy in on the same page,” Matias said, though she echoed Coach Faircloth’s sentiment, feeling like everyone began to gel very quickly with one goal in mind. “We have new faces, which, they’re gonna help us a lot this season. Everybody’s bought in, everybody’s happy to be back, and everybody is working hard because we know that our goal is basically to win a championship.”
Front-and-center of what the Hawks think could be a championship defense stands 6’4″ middle blocker Lilliana Montes, who was moved into the starting lineup early during her 2024 freshman season. The California native then proceeded to lead her team in blocks with 84, finishing second in the MEAC in blocks-per-set at 0.92.
“I kinda got thrown in, and I felt like I was able to really make an impact on my team and really be able to show what I’m about,” Montes said of a whirlwind freshman season that saw her earn MEAC All-Rookie honors.
Not satisfied with one good season, Montes has kept her gaze forward, focused on how she can take an even bigger step in 2025, saying, “This year I’m trying to grow with my energy on the court. Last year I worked really hard on my confidence and being able to show up, so now I just need to take that confidence and turn it into energy for myself and for my teammates.”
