Morgan State 3, Saint Peter's 0
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (Aug. 26, 2011)-Freshman Nangeeshie Pabon tallied a match-high 11 kills and added eight digs in her Morgan debut, while Ashley Johnson totaled 10 kills to lead the new-look Lady Bears to a 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-17) victory over Saint Peter's on Day 1 of the La Salle Invitational at Tom Gola Arena.
Friday's non-conference victory marked the second consecutive season the Lady Bears have won their season-opener.
Senior Erin Cox finished with a team-high 18 digs to go with six kills and two service aces for Morgan State, while Kierra Outlin contributed 12 digs and a team-high three aces. Ngebui (Natalie) Chafeh led the team with three assists and added eight digs and two blocks.
Morgan State (1-0) jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the opening set, but Saint Peter's (0-2) responded with an 11-6 spurt to pull within 12-11. The Lady Bears got back-to-back kills and an ace all by Cox in part of an 8-1 run to increase their lead to 20-12.
In the second set, Morgan State found itself having to battle back the entire set. The Peahens held leads of four points four times and held a 19-17 advantage before Morgan State went on a 6-0 run to take a 23-19 lead, before winning 25-20.
The third set was much like the first, as the Lady Bears jumped out to take a 6-0 lead. Saint Peters used a 3-0 run, which concluded with back-to-back aces by Laura Reinhart to bring the Peahens within 15-13, but the Lady Bears closed out the set with a 10-4 spurt to claim the victory.
Saint Peter's was led by Paige Peterson, who had a team-high six kills. Jenny Pliska totaled a match-high 21 digs, while Anna Molokotina finished with 16 assists. Reinhart notched seven digs and a match-high five service aces.
The Lady Bears finished the match recording 39 kills to the 23 by Saint Peter's. Morgan State concluded with a hitting percentage of .260, including a high of .393 in the first set. The Peahens ended the match with a .049 hitting percentage.
Morgan State will face Providence later this evening at 7 p.m.
