Ivanti Bush led Morgan with 11 kills and added 12 digs and two blocks.
Boxscore
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (Aug. 25, 2006)-The Morgan State Lady Bears opened up the 2006 campaign with a 3-0 (12-30, 22-30, 24-30) loss to the Bears of Missouri State in the opening match of the 19th Annual Colorado State Hilton Classic at Moby Arena on the campus of Colorado State.
Missouri State (1-0) jumped out to an 11-3 lead in the opening game and increased its advantage to as much as 16 points (24-8), before going on to win 30-12. Morgan State was held to just three kills, while the Bears of Missouri State tallied 12 kills.
In Game 2 the Lady Bears made Missouri State work, as both teams traded points back-and-forth to a 9-9 tie. Missouri State would score four of the next five points to give the home Bears a 13-10 lead, but Morgan State would pull within 13-14 to force a Missouri State timeout. The Bears, however came out of the timeout and used a 10-3 run to take a 24-16 advantage. Morgan State countered with three unanswered points en route to a 5-1 run to pull within 21-25. But Missouri State responded with a 3-0 run and captured the second game, 30-22.
Morgan State took its largest lead of the entire evening in the third game on a forceful kill by freshman Ivanti Bush, putting the guest Lady Bears ahead 9-5. The Lady Bears would match their four-point lead two more times at 11-7 and 12-8, before Missouri State used a 3-0 spurt to pull within 11-12. The Bears took their first lead of the match at 15-14 on a kill by Sara Lansing, and held their largest lead of the game at 27-21, following six straight points. Missouri State would go on to win the game 30-24 and the match 3-0.
Morgan State (0-1) which improved its play and intensity in each game as the match continued was led by Bush, who tallied a doubleheader with a team-high 11 kills, 12 digs and two blocks in her first outing as a Lady Bear. Juniors Jeniqua Moran and Fort Collins native Esther Johnson each added five kills and seven digs, while Ashley Preston led the team with 13 digs. Sophomore Camille Coleman, who missed last season with a knee injury, provided pressure around the net with a team-high three blocks, three kills and three digs. Freshman Nicole Williams finished with 22 assists, two digs, two blocks and a kill.
The Bears were led by Erin O’Connor’s 14 kills and Jamie Adams, who added 11 and a match-high five blocks to help Missouri State out block Morgan, 11-5. Adeana McAfee had a match-high 16 digs and Katelyn Panzau recorded a match-high 37 assists.
The Lady Bears return to action on Saturday, Aug. 26, when they take on host Colorado State at noon at Moby Arena. The Lady Bears will conclude the Colorado State Hilton Classic later that evening with a match against Texas A&M at 5 p.m. MST.
