Lady Bears host rival Coppin State in MEAC opener this Friday at 7 p.m.
Roster SheetLive Video-Morgan State Live Video-Coppin State BALTIMORE, Md. (Sept. 23, 2014)-Fresh off back-to-back tournament wins (Friar Classic and Red Flash Classic) the past two weekends to close out the non-conference slate, the Lady Bears' volleyball team welcomes crosstown rival Coppin State to Hill Field House on Friday, Sept. 26 for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) opener for both teams.
The match, which will also be the 2014 home opener for Morgan State, is slated to begin at 7 p.m. This will be the 66th meeting between the two teams with Morgan State holding a 57-8 series lead.
Morgan State (7-6), which is off to its best start since the 2004 season, has come on strong the past two weeks. After beginning the season winning just two of their first seven contests, the Lady Bears enter Friday's match winners of five of their last six matches, including two straight.
Two weeks ago the Lady Bears traveled to Providence, R.I. to compete in the 10th Annual Friar Classic and walked away with the title after a 3-0 weekend. The Lady Bears would drop just one set out of the 10 sets they played. The tournament win would be the first for Morgan State since the 2006 season.
Junior setter,
Carmen Fernandez was named to the all-tournament team, while
Arianna Hayden earned MVP honors. It would be the third straight all-tournament team honor is as many weeks for Hayden.
Last week the Lady Bears captured the Red Flash Classic in Loretto, Pa. Despite dropping its opening day match to host Saint Francis-Pa., Morgan State regrouped and won the next two to claim the tournament title. The win marked the first time Morgan State won two tournaments, let alone back-to-back tournaments since the 2002 season.
Senior
Zuri Smith was named to the all-tournament team, while junior
Dinah Jones, who set a career-high 16 kills and had a career-high six blocks during the weekend, also earned all-tournament team honors.
The Lady Bears have been led offensively by
Arianna Hayden, who has a 132 kills to go with 97 digs, and 12 service aces.
Samantha Prescott and
Evely Macedo have totaled 114 and 112 kills, respectively.
Carmen Fernandez has a team-leading 110 digs and has notched a team-high 502 assists and ranks second in service aces with 15. Hayden and
Dinah Jones (105 kills) have tallied 28 and 26 blocks, respectively, to lead the Lady Bears.
The Lady Bears are coached by
Ramona Riley-Bozier, who is in the midst of her 27
th season at the helm of her alma mater. The winningest coach of all-time at Morgan State in any sport, Riley-Bozier has guided Morgan State to five MEAC crowns, three NCAA Tournament appearances and five MEAC Coach of the Year honors. Riley Bozier, who has tallied a career coaching record at Morgan State of 407-408, entered the season ranked 45
th amongst active NCAA Division I coaches.
Coppin State (6-7), which last season reached the MEAC championship match, heads into the contest after going 1-2 during its trip to Arizona for the Wildcat Classic. The Eagles played host No. 20 Arizona tough, before falling in three sets and ended Day 1 with a 3-2 win over the University of Maryland Baltimore Country (UMBC). Just six days earlier Coppin State swept UMBC on the road to earn the program's first-ever victory over the Retrievers. The Eagles then dropped a 3-0 decision to Tulane to close out the tournament.
Coppin State has been led by Cindy Okpegbue, who has a team-leading 194 kills to go with 45 digs and 20 blocks. Ariel Richard has recorded 151 kills, 63 digs and is tied with Kandace Thomas (104 kills) for second on the team in blocks with 23.
Defensively the Eagles have been paced by Gabrielle Otero, who has 199 digs and leads the team in service aces with 13. Bailee Jackson is contributing 163 digs and Kendra Ireigbe leads the squad with 44 blocks. Chelsee Sauni has notched 516 assists on the season.
The Eagles are coached by Ashley Preston, who is in her third season at the helm. The former Morgan State Lady Bear, who holds the all-time school record in digs (2,066), enters the contest with an overall coaching mark of 32-37 at Coppin State.
Last season Preston set the single season record for wins at Coppin State with 15, while guiding the Eagles to their first-ever MEAC championship match appearance in school history. Preston is just six wins shy of becoming the program's all-time coaching leader for victories, currently held by Linda Mitchell (37 wins).
