Erin Cox led the Lady Bears with a match-high and season-best 14 kills in the loss to UMKC.
Boxscore
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Sept. 5, 2008)-Morgan State freshman Erin Cox tallied a season-best and match-high 14 kills but it wasn't enough for the Lady Bears, who dropped a 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-16) non-conference decision to host University of Missouri-Kansas City in the opening match of the Kangaroo Klassic on Friday afternoon at the Swinney Recreation Center.
The Kangaroos (2-3) were led by Christina McQuin's 10 kills, while Erin Wellwood and Danni Sperry shared the setter duties and finished with 16 and 13 assists, respectively.
McQuin and Mandy Tipton each had five kills apiece to lead the Kangaroos in the first set. UMKC finished with 15 kills in that set, while Cox totaled five of the Lady Bears eight kills. Morgan State used a 5-0 spurt to take a 13-12 lead and held a 20-19 advantage, before the Kangaroos scored the next three points to go in front, 22-20. The Lady Bears would get within 23-22, before giving up the final two points.
The start of the third set by far was the worst performance of the Lady Bears this season. Morgan State quickly found themselves trailing, 12-4 and fell behind by as much as 13 points (19-6). The Lady Bears put together back-to-back mini 5-1 runs and pulled within 22-16. But a – error put an end to the momentum and the Kangaroos scored the final three points for the win.
Despite the loss, there were several bright spots for the Lady Bears. Freshman Christa Rogers finished with a match-high 23 assists, while fellow freshmen, Delissa Carline and Dina Beamon each had a match-high seven digs for Morgan State, which held a 32-20 advantage over the Kangaroos in digs. As a team the Lady Bears also outblocked UMKC, 5-3. Kierra Riley, another freshman, had a match-high three blocks, with Rogers and Jessica Bradford adding two blocks each.
Morgan State (0-5) will return to action later on this evening when it faces Samford at 5 p.m.
