Loyola 3, Morgan State 1
Morgan State 0, Towson 3
TOWSON, Md. (Sept. 2, 2011)-The Morgan State volleyball team returned to action on Friday afternoon and dropped both of its contests on the opening day of the Battle of Baltimore. The Lady Bears lost 3-1 (25-21, 18-25, 18-25, 11-25) in their first match to Loyola, before falling 3-0 (18-25, 11-25, 20-25) to host Towson at the Towson Center.
Morgan State (2-3) got off to a good start in its opening match against Loyola, fighting for a 25-21 victory in the first set. But the Lady Bears would drop the next two sets by identical 25-18 scores, then dropped a 25-11 decision in the fourth and final set, which they were held to just four kills.
Erin Cox led Morgan State with a team-high eight kills and added 15 digs. Ashley Johnson and Natalie Chafeh each tallied six kills, while Chafeh finished with 18 assists, four service aces and two blocks. Kierra Outlin totaled 16 digs.
Loyola (3-2) was led by Tina Catanach's match-high 18 kills. Elena Frac recorded a match-high 21 digs and had a match-high six service aces, while Meghan Lowry chipped in with five aces. Lauren Anderson totaled 37 assists and eight digs.
The Greyhounds finished the match with a hitting percentage of .222, while Morgan State was limited to .046 hitting percentage.
Morgan's Zuri Smith made her first career start as a Lady Bear and produced seven kills, while Janelle Wilson added six kills in a loss to co-host Towson. The Tigers were led by Katy Buck, who totaled a match-high 14 kills and added six digs. Aubrey Kirven finished with a match-high 27 assists for Towson, which improved to 6-1 on the season.
The host Tigers recorded 46 kills, including 18 kills in the first set, for a hitting percentage of .372. Morgan State had 28 kills for a hitting percentage of .125, including a high of 12 kills in the third set.
Day 2 of the Battle of Baltimore will now shift to Hill Field House on the campus of Morgan State. Towson and UMBC get things started on Saturday, when they square off at 11 a.m. Coppin State will follow with a match against Loyola at 1:30 p.m., while Morgan State will host UMBC at 4:30 p.m. Loyola and Towson will close out the 2011 Battle of Baltimore tournament with a match at 7 p.m.
