Ivanti Bush's career-high 31 kills, helped Morgan to its first-ever win over UMBC.
Boxscore
BALTIMORE, Md. (Sept. 23, 2006)-Freshman outside hitter Ivanti Bush set a career-high with 31 kills and added 14 digs, to record her sixth double-double of the season, while fellow junior outside hitters Esther Johnson and Jeniqua Moran added 18 and 17 kills, respectively to lead Morgan State to a 3-2 (20-24, 30-28, 26-30, 27-30, 22-20) non-conference victory over crosstown foe UMBC on Saturday evening at Hill Field House.
With the win, the Lady Bears (5-6) ended a two match losing skid and earned their first-ever win over UMBC in the series’ nine meetings.
After taking a two-game lead, the Lady Bears then dropped the next two games to UMBC, setting the stage for a fifth and decisive game.
Trailing 13-14, MSU’s Nicole Williams made the biggest play of the match to swing the momentum the Lady Bears’ way. Williams, who finished with a career-high 62 assists, tracked down a ball heading toward the stands, hit it back into play over her head and Johnson finished it off with a kill to tie the score at 14 all.
From that point on, Morgan State fought off five match-point opportunities for the Retrievers, before finally taking a 20-19 lead on a kill by Bush. UMBC tied the score at 20 on a kill by Ashley Oscars, but the Lady Bears closed the deal with back-to-back kills by Moran and Johnson for the 22-20 victory.
The Retrievers (6-8) were led by Oscars, who finished with 24 kills and Sarah Fillmore added 20 kills. Jennifer Wylie totaled a team-high 21 digs and recorded three of the team’s six service aces.
Johnson added a match- and career-high 24 digs for Morgan State to record her 36th career double-double. Ashley Preston finished with 19 digs. Camille Coleman totaled a match-high five blocks and Moran added four to help the Lady Bears out block UMBC, 8-5.
The Lady Bears are off until Tuesday, Sept. 26, when they travel to Virginia to take on Hampton for their Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opener. Morgan State is 26-0 all-time against Hampton. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.
