BALTIMORE, Md. (Oct. 2, 2014)-The Morgan State volleyball team will conclude its three-match homestand this Friday evening, when it plays host to Norfolk State in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) North Division match at Hill Field House. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. 

The Lady Bears (8-7, 1-1 MEAC) enter the contest coming off a 3-1 loss to Hampton this past Sunday. The loss ended a season-long three-match winning streak for Morgan State.

Morgan State evened the match at a set apiece with a 27-25 win in the second set. But seemed to come out flat, following the intermission and the Lady Pirates powered their way to two straight wins to earn the victory.

Led by Vendula Strakova's double-double with a match-high 24 kills and 12 digs, Hampton would finish the match with a .336 hitting percentage.

Arianna Hayden led the Lady Bears with 11 kills and six digs, while Evely Macedo had 10 kills and six digs and Zuri Smith added nine kills. Carmen Fernandez totaled 35 assists and Samantha Prescott tallied a match-high 17 digs.

Norfolk State (0-14, 0-2 MEAC), which is searching for its first win of the season and first since a 3-1 victory at Delaware State (11/10/13), is coming off a 3-1 loss at Coppin State on Sunday.

The Spartans were led by Janay Frazier, who tallied seven kills, while Noelle Eagles had a team-high 10 digs in the loss. Darcy Moore finished with 16 assists. 

Norfolk State has been paced by Jessica Johnson, who is averaging 3.33 kills per set, while Hope Forsythe is adding 2.51 kps. Moore leads the Spartans with 434 assists and has a team-leading 14 service aces.

Defensively, Eagles is averaging 2.94 digs and Moore is recording 2.29 digs. Kylee Thiim has totaled 26 blocks, while Forsythe and Dominique Parker are adding 17 and 16 blocks, respectively.

Morgan State has been led by Hayden, who is averaging 2.75 kills per set and leads the Lady Bears in blocks with 32 blocks. Hayden is also tied for second on the team with Fernandez in service aces with 18. Fernandez has notched a team-high 585 assists, while Dinah Jones ranks second in blocks with 30.

Evely Macedo is averaging 2.38 kills and 2.20 digs per set, while Tamara Leslie leads the Lady Bears with 2.43 digs per outing. Haley McClure has a team-leading 19 service aces.

Friday's contest against Norfolk State will mark the 23rd meeting between the two squads with the Lady Bears holding a 17-5 series lead. However, the Spartans have won the last four meetings, including a pair of 3-2 wins last season.

"We need to play our game and keep our tempo and not slow up," said Jones, who was limited to six kills and a block against Hampton, after combining for 29 kills and nine blocks in the previous two matches.

"We need to go at them [Norfolk State] full force to win in three like we deserve. We will not give them their first win of the season. That's not an option. We're doing too well as a whole to go down that road."