Samantha Prescott had a double-double with a career-high 20 digs to go with 12 kills and five blocks against Lehigh.
Box Score BETHLEHEM, Pa. (Sept. 13, 2013)-If you are one to believe in all the Friday the 13
th suspense and superstitions, then the Morgan State volleyball team was doomed from the start before its match Friday afternoon against Lehigh even began.
Heading to the match from its hotel in Easton, Pa., the bus began to sputter, before eventually cutting off and stalling right on the road. This would go on an additional 18 or 19 more times, as the bus attempted to make its way up and down the hills and mountains of Bethlehem in a scene reminiscent of The Little Engine That Could.
Dealing with riding on a bus which would and did cut off at any time, was only part of this unexpected adventure for Morgan State. After finally reaching it to the Lehigh campus in search of the volleyball arena, the team bus was directed to the other side of the campus where the athletic facilities were located. Only one problem, Leeman-Turner Arena is not located there.
By the time the bus made its way back to the main campus and to the arena, which was just steps away from where it had originally stopped the first time, the Lady Bears had missed their scheduled practice time and had a little over 40 minutes to get ready before the match started.
Then prior to player introductions there was what several MSU players felt was the mimicking of their pre-game chant, by Lehigh's players. In the end, Morgan State would defeat host Lehigh, 3-2 (26-24, 16-25, 25-14, 15-13) in the opening round of the Lafayette/Lehigh Crosstown Invitational at Leeman-Turner Arena.
The victory was Morgan State's second consecutive five-set win and marked the third contest out of the last four for Morgan State to go five sets.
Samantha Prescott led Morgan State with a double-double, finishing with a team- and career-high 20 digs, while adding a team-high 12 kills.
Ngebui Chafeh also tallied a double-double with 29 assists and 19 digs. Chafeh would add eight kills, falling shy of a triple-double.
Tamara Leslie added 14 digs for the Lady Bears.
Lehigh (5-3) was led by Jade Van Streepen, who finished with 14 kills and 14 digs. Amy Matula also had a double-double with 25 assists and 13 digs. Mariah Brantley finished with a match-high 26 digs and Dana Raber added 19 assists.
Morgan State (2-5) used an 8-2 run to take a 16-14 lead in the opening set. The Lady Bears held a 24-22 lead, before the host Mountain Hawks evened the score at 24 apiece. Back-to-back kills by
Zuri Smith and
Arianna Hayden gave Morgan State the 26-24 victory.
In the second set Morgan State pulled within 14-12, before Lehigh used a 6-2 spurt to take a 20-14 advantage. The Mountain Hawks would go on to win the set, 25-16 to even the score at 1-1.
Morgan State came to life in the third set on the defensive side with eight blocks and a 10-0 run to put it out of reach. The set was a back-and-forth affair until the Lady Bears broke an 11-11 score by rattling off 10 consecutive points to take a 21-11 lead. Morgan State eventually won, 25-14 to take a 2-1 lead over Lehigh.
Lehigh again bounced back in Set 4, increasing a 10-5 lead to a 20-13 advantage. The Mountain Hawks would win the set, 25-13 to force a fifth and decisive set.
Lehigh held a 9-6 lead in the fifth set after the two teams switched sides, before the Lady Bears countered with a 7-0 run to take a 13-9 lead. The Mountain Hawks scored three of the next four points to get within 14-13, but
Haley McClure ended the set with a kill to give Morgan State the 15-13 victory and the match win, 3-2.
The Lady Bears held a 14.0-7.0 blocking advantage over Lehigh for the match. Smith notched a match-high seven blocks to tie a career-high.
Janelle Wilson added six blocks and Prescott finished with five blocks.
Lehigh was led by Amanda Clark's four blocks, while Van Streepen had three blocks.
The Lady Bears return to action on Saturday with a 12:30 p.m. match against Quinnipiac. Morgan State will then close out the Crosstown Invitational against co-host Lafayette at 4:30 p.m. Both matches will be played at the Kirby Sports Stadium on the campus of Lafayette in Easton, Pa.
