Morgan State University Athletics

Box Score

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Sept. 14, 2014)-Samantha Prescott notched a match-high 10 kills and Tamara Leslie, who was playing in just her second match of the season after nursing an injury, finished with a match-high 12 digs to lead the Lady Bears to a 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-16) sweep of Quinnipiac on Day 2 of the Friar Classic on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Hall.
 
Morgan State (4-5) earned its first two-match winning streak of the season, while improving to 2-0 over the weekend to remain the only unbeaten team in the tournament. The win also avenged a 1-3 loss to Quinnipiac on this day a year ago in the Lehigh-Lafayette Crosstown Tournament and ended a two-match losing skid to the Bobcats. Morgan State now leads the all-time series, 3-2.
 
The Lady Bears would regroup from the .174 hitting percentage they had in last night's win against Providence, to hit for .303 as a team. It would be the second highest hitting percentage this season for the Lady Bears.
 
The Lady Bears would total a set-high 15 kills and had a set-high .360 hitting percentage in the opening set. They would follow that up with a .350 hitting percentage in Set 2.
 
Junior Carmen Fernandez finished with a match-high 31 assists to go with three kills, two digs and on service ace. Junior Arianna Hayden added eight kills and seven digs in the match, while junior Dinah Jones contributed to Morgan State's high hitting percentage, recording a career-tying seven kills on seven attempts and no errors for a career-best 1.000 hitting percentage.
 
The opening set was back and forth with neither team taking a lead of more than two points. The Lady Bears finally put an end to that when they went on a 5-0 run to take a 22-17 lead. Morgan State would go on to win the opening set 25-21.
 
Quinnipiac (1-8) led by as much as five points (10-5) before the Lady Bears used an 8-0 run to take a 13-10 lead in the second set. Morgan State would use a 5-0 run to increase its lead to 21-14, following a service ace from Evely Macedo. An ace by Hayden gave the Lady Bears a 24-16 lead, but the Bobcats would prolong the set, scoring three straight points to pull within 24-19. Prescott would put an end to any possible comeback with a kill to give Morgan State the 25-19 win.
 
Morgan State would never trail in the third and final set, as it jumped out to a 13-5 advantage after a service ace from Haley McClure. The Bobcats would make it interesting though, going on a 10-5 spurt that cut deficit to 18-15. Morgan State would score the next four points in part of a 7-1 run, capped off with a kill by freshman Keana Browne to close out the match and set with a 25-16 win.
 
Quinnipiac was led by Allison Leigh and Katie Urycki, who both recorded a team-high six kills. Leigh also led the team with four blocks to tie a match high. Emma Ogden had a team-leading 19 assists and Cody Michaels finished with a team-high nine digs.
 
The Lady Bears, who have been focusing this tournament on improving their team blocks, were out blocked by Quinnipiac, 7.0-6.0. Zuri Smith tied a match high with four blocks to lead Morgan State, while Fernandez, Hayden and Macedo all totaled two blocks.
 
Morgan State has a quick turnaround, as it closes out the Friar Classic with a 2:30 p.m. contest against Fairleigh Dickinson. The Knights (2-8), who enter the contest with a 1-1 mark in the tournament, are coming off a 3-1 loss to host Providence earlier this morning.