Morgan State University Athletics

Charlotte Invitational Notes

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BALTIMORE, Md. (August 27, 2014)-The Morgan State volleyball team kicks off its 2014 campaign on the road this weekend (Aug. 29-30) when the squad travels to Charlotte, N.C. to compete in the Charlotte Invitational. This will be the third appearance for the Lady Bears in a tournament hosted by Charlotte.
 
The Lady Bears will begin the two-day tournament on Friday, Aug. 29 with a first-ever meeting against East Tennessee State at 9 a.m., following a 2:30 match against host Charlotte. Morgan State will then face Sacramento State on Saturday at 9:30 a.m., before closing out the tournament with a 4:30 p.m. contest against the University of North Carolina Greensboro. All matches will be played at Halton Arena.
 
Last season the Lady Bears finished 12-13 overall, 7-5 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference North Division, which ranked fifth. Morgan State returns seven letterwinners, including five starters from a year ago.
 
MSU AGAINST THE FIELD: This will be the first meeting between Morgan State and East Tennessee State…The Lady Bears are 0-2 all-time against the host 49ers. The two teams first met during the 2007 Comfort Suites 49er Tournament, a 3-2 win by Charlotte on Sept. 8, 2007. Morgan State returned to Halton Arena in 2011 and suffered a 3-0 loss to the 49ers in the then Hilton 49er Invitational (Sept. 10, 2011)…Sacramento State holds a 3-0 series lead over the Lady Bears. The two teams last met during the Sacramento State Invitational (Sept. 1, 2012) a 3-1 victory by the host Hornets…Greensboro also holds a 3-0 series lead over Morgan State. The Spartans swept Morgan State in the last meeting between the two teams in the opener of the Spartan Spiketacular (Sept. 17, 2010).
 
NEXT UP: The Lady Bears will return to North Carolina next week to compete in the East Carolina Invitational (Sept. 5-6) in Greenville, N.C. Morgan State will take on UNC Wilmington on Friday, before closing out with matches against Tennessee Tech and host East Carolina on Saturday.
 
OPENING SERVE: Morgan State is 8-13 in season openers since the 1993 season, after dropping last year's opener at Arizona (8/30). The Lady Bears, who have lost two consecutive season openers, last won an opening day match in 2011 when they defeated Saint Peter's 3-0 at the La Salle Invitational (8/26/11).
 
MORGAN PICKED FOURTH IN MEAC NORTH: Morgan State was picked to finish fourth in the north division of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) preseason poll, as voted by the league's head coaches and sports information directors. Last year, the Lady Bears were picked to finish fifth, but finished the season at 12-13 overall, 7-5 in the MEAC and finished fifth.
 
2014 CAPTAINS NAMED: Seniors Zuri Smith and Tamara Leslie were named team captain and co-captain, respectively, for the 2014 season. Smith, a native of Inglewood, Calif., finished second on the team in both kills (206) and blocks (73) last season, while earning All-MEAC third team honors. A native of Landover, Md., Leslie finished third on the team in digs a year ago with 216.
 
SOMEONE NEW: Morgan State's season-opener against East Tennessee State on August 29 in the opener of the Charlotte Invitational, will mark the first meeting between the two programs.
 
UNBEATEN STREAK ON THE LINE: The Lady Bears enter the season with a perfect record against Providence (3-0), which is the only team on this season's schedule Morgan State has yet to drop a match against. The Lady Bears square off against Providence during the 10th Annual Friar Classic (Sept. 12-13), hosted by Providence. The two teams met last season also in the Friar Classic with Morgan State earning a 3-1 victory.
 
TOURNAMENT EXPOSURE: Last season the Lady Bears faced four opponents (Arizona, Central Arkansas, Hampton, Kansas) who all reached the 2013 NCAA Volleyball Tournament. Defending MEAC champion Hampton is the only opponent on this year's schedule who reached the 2013 NCAA Volleyball Tournament. Morgan State, faces the Lady Pirates on Sept. 28 at Hill Field House, before traveling to Hampton, Va. for a match on Oct. 26.
 
TRACKING SMITH: Senior Zuri Smith enters the season ranked 11th all-time at Morgan State with 177 career blocks. A native of Inglewood, Calif., Smith is 21 blocks away from passing former Lady Bear, Dorothy Buford (197 blocks from 1997-00) for ninth place.
 
INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR: The 2014 Lady Bears' roster will feature three players (Minja Rankov, Evely Macedo and Carmen Fernandez) who hail from outside the United States. It is the most international players ever on a Morgan State volleyball roster at one time in Riley-Bozier's 27 years as head coach. Rankov is a sophomore transfer out of Nova Sad, Serbia and Macedo is a junior transfer out of Fortaleza, Brazil. While Puerto Rico is a US territory, Fernandez, a junior transfer and a native of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, is just the second volleyball player from Puerto Rico to play for Riley-Bozier at Morgan State.
 
BOZIER PICKS UP CAREER WIN 400: Morgan State head coach Ramona Riley-Bozier collected her 400th career coaching victory after the Lady Bears earned a 3-1 victory at Delaware State on Nov. 3, 2013. Coach Bozier, who is the winningest coach of all-time in any sport at Morgan State, has a career record of 400-402. She enters the 2014 season ranked 45th amongst active NCAA Division I coaches.
 
RETURN TRIPS: The Morgan State volleyball team will make return trips for the second consecutive year to compete in both the East Carolina Invitational in Greenville, N.C. (Sept. 5-6) and the 10th Annual Friar Classic in Providence, R.I. (Sept. 12-13). Last season the Lady Bears struggled at the East Carolina tournament, going 1-2. Two weeks later Morgan State recorded a 2-1 record while in Providence, and finished in second-place.
 
FOUR NAMED TO MEAC ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM: Morgan State had four players named to the MEAC Volleyball All-Academic Team during the 2013-14 school year. Three of the four recognized (Shayna Hunt-Colon, Tamara Leslie, Zuri Smith) return for the 2014 season.
 
WELCOME TO THE CAVE: Morgan State will welcome the addition of six newcomers to the 2014 squad, three of which are freshman, two junior transfers and a sophomore transfer. Those newcomers are juniors Evely Macedo (Fortaleza, Brazil) and Carmen Fernandez (Bayamon, Puerto Rico), sophomore Minja Rankov (Nova Sad, Serbia) and freshmen Lexus Spears (Jacksonville, Fla.), Michaela Collins (Sacramento, Calif.) and Keana Browne (Virginia Beach, Va.).
 
SAYING GOODBYE: Morgan State will say goodbye to its two seniors, Tamara Leslie and Zuri Smith prior to its home finale 'Senior Night' match against Howard (11/7).
 
2014 MEAC TOURNAMENT: The 2014 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference volleyball tournament is scheduled for March 21-23 at the Physical Education Complex on the campus of Coppin State in Baltimore, Md.