Box Score Morgan State 2, Loyola Chicago 3
GREENVILLE, N.C. (Sept. 6, 2013)-The Morgan State volleyball team nearly overcame a two-set deficit by forcing a fifth and decisive frame, before eventually falling to Loyola Chicago, 3-2 (19-25, 11-25, 25-23, 25-18, 10-15) in the opener of the East Carolina Classic on Friday afternoon at Minges Coliseum at Williams Center.
The non-conference match-up was the first-ever meeting between the two programs. The Ramblers (3-2) claimed the first two sets to jump out to a 2-0 lead, before Morgan State stormed back to even the match at 2-2. But in the end Loyola Chicago would have just enough in the fifth set to hold off Morgan's comeback attempt and win the match.
Maureen Carls finished with a match-high 17 kills, while Brittany Brown recorded a match-high 37 assists to lead the Ramblers. Stephanie Kinane had a match-high 13 digs to go with six assists and Morgan Reardon added 10 digs.
The Lady Bears (0-4) were led by
Janelle Wilson and
Haley McClure, who each tallied a team-high eight kills.
Dinah Jones and
Samantha Prescott both added seven kills.
Ngebui Chafeh finished with 34 assists to go with six digs, two kills and two service aces.
Tamara Leslie and
Shanotta Bawek led the defensive attack for Morgan State, each totaling 11 digs for the match.
Morgan State fell behind in the opening set by a score of 6-0, before putting together a mini 3-0 run to pull within three points. Loyola Chicago used a 5-1 run to extend its cushion to 14-6 and appeared to be in control. Morgan State fought back though and later got within four points after going on a 4-1 run, capped off with a block by Jones to make it a 22-18 game. However, the Ramblers scored the next two points and went on to win the set, 25-19.
Loyola Chicago broke open a 5-3 game in Set 2 by using a 9-1 spurt to increase its advantage to 14-4. Morgan State struggled with overcoming the 10-point deficit it had dug, getting as close as eight points (16-8) once. Leading 19-9, the Ramblers closed out the set on a 6-2 run for the 25-11 victory. Loyola Chicago finished the second set with 11 kills and a hitting percentage of .368, while holding Morgan State to just two kills and a -.312 hitting percentage.
Morgan State seemed refreshed following the intermission prior to the third set. The Lady Bears scored the first point of the third set to claim its first lead of the match and then went on 5-0 run to take a 6-2 lead, capped off with a kill by
Shayna Hunt-Colon.
Loyola Chicago got within 7-5, before the Lady Bears went on a 4-0 run to take an 11-6 lead in the match at 11-6. Again the Ramblers would chip into Morgan State's lead, this time cutting the deficit to 14-11. But the Lady Bears would not fold, rattling off four straight points in the midst of a 6-1 run to increase the lead to 20-12 (eight points), their largest of the match.
The Ramblers woke up and used a 7-0 run to draw within 21-19 and later evened the score at 23 all. Morgan State would score the next two points, including an assisted block by Wilson and Chafeh, which proved to be the set winner. The victory would be the first set win of the season for the Lady Bears. Morgan State notched a set-high of 14 kills in the third set.
The fourth set was a back-and-forth affair, until the Lady Bears broke a 9-9 score with a 6-1 run to take a 15-10 advantage. Morgan State's confidence continued to grow, as the Lady Bears went on an 8-4 spurt to take a 23-14 lead, following an assisted block by Wilson and Chafeh. Loyola Chicago would score the next three points to cut Morgan's lead to 23-17. But McClure got a kill and a kill by Wilson ended the set, giving the Lady Bears a 25-18 victory and forcing a fifth and deciding set.
The fifth set was neck-and-neck, until Loyola started to put some distance between itself and Morgan State, by taking an 8-5 lead as the teams switched sides. Morgan State got within 9-7, but would get no closer. The Ramblers scored the next three points in the midst of a 5-1 spurt to extend their lead to 14-8, before eventually going on to win, 15-10.
Loyola Chicago finished the match with 50 kills and a .217 hitting percentage, while Morgan State tallied 46 kills and a .120 hitting percentage. Led by Kelly Feigh's three service aces, the Ramblers finished with 10 aces for the match. Morgan State had seven aces with Wilson leading the way with three.
The Ramblers held a slim 10.5-10.0 blocking advantage over Morgan State. Olivia Akin of Loyola Chicago had a match-high five blocks and Libby Bresser had four blocks. Morgan State was led by Wilson, Jones and Chafeh, who each had four blocks for the Lady Bears.
Morgan State returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 7, when it takes on host East Carolina at 12:30 p.m. The Lady Bears will wrap up tournament play with a 4:30 p.m. match against The Citadel.
