BALTIMORE, Md. (Nov. 6, 2014)-The Morgan State volleyball team will close out the regular season on Friday, Nov. 7, when it plays host to beltway rival Howard in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Northern Division at 7 p.m. at Hill Field House.
 
The contest will also be 'Senior Night' for two Lady Bear players, co-captain Tamara Leslie and captain Zuri Smith, who will be playing in their final home contest of their collegiate careers at Morgan State. The two seniors will be honored prior to the match.
 
Friday's match will be 64^th meeting between the two teams with Morgan State holding a 35-28 all-time series lead over the Lady Bison. Howard has won three of the last four match-ups, including a 3-0 sweep over Morgan State earlier this season in Washington, D.C. (10/16).
 
Last season Howard spoiled the Lady Bears' Senior Night, while at the same time eliminating Morgan State from advancing to the league's championship tournament. This time around the Lady Bears have already secured a spot in the postseason tournament, but there's still an outside chance to improve on their seeding.
 
Morgan State currently sits in fourth-place, the final spot out of the northern division, while Howard is currently in the division lead. A victory over the Lady Bison, coupled by other scenarios could possibly move Morgan State to the third seed. Only the top four teams in each division will advance to the MEAC championship scheduled for Nov. 21-23 at Coppin State University.
 
The Lady Bears (13-11, 6-5 MEAC) are winners of two straight, following a 3-0 victory over Delaware State on Sunday, Nov. 2. Arianna Hayden led Morgan State with a double-double with a team-high 10 kills and a match-high 10 digs, while Evely Macedo and Smith each added eight kills. Carmen Fernandez finished with a match-high 31 assists, while Dinah Jones recorded a match-high four blocks in the win.
 
Howard (16-9, 9-1 MEAC) enters the contest riding high, following its thrilling 3-2 home victory over defending MEAC tournament champions, Hampton on Sunday. The win, which was Howard's first over Hampton since 2008, extended the Lady Bison's winning streak to six consecutive matches, while Hampton had its five-match winning streak snapped.
 
Stephanie Shultis tallied 54 assists, Whitney Fields had a match-high 17 kills and Katherine Broussard tallied a match-high 21 digs in the win over Hampton. Khaila Donaldson recorded a double-double with 14 kills and 13 digs and Allyson Lods received added 13 digs. Howard, which held an 11.5-7.0 blocking advantage over the Lady Pirates, got a match-high five blocks apiece from Fields and Donaldson.