Morgan State University Athletics

Box Score

Bear Shots

BALTIMORE, Md. (Sept. 26, 2014)-The Morgan State Lady Bears volleyball team opened up the 2014 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) North Division slate on the right foot, following a 3-1 (28-26, 19-25, 25-23, 25-14) victory over crosstown rival Coppin State on Friday evening at Hill Field House.
 
The win, which was also the Lady Bears' home opener of the season, matched the team's season-long winning streak of three straight. It also improved the Lady Bears' all-time record over Coppin State to 58-8.
 
The atmosphere at Hill Field House was electric, as a crowd of 500 was on hand to watch the two rivals, who prior to the match, have split the previous four contests.
 
Morgan State (8-6, 1-0 MEAC) was led by senior Zuri Smith, who tallied a team-high 14 kills and finished with a match-high four blocks to move into ninth-place all-time at Morgan State with 200. Junior Dinah Jones continued her hot hitting as of late, as she totaled 13 kills and had a match-high .632 hitting percentage for the Lady Bears. Fellow junior Arianna Hayden recorded a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs, while junior Samantha Prescott notched a match-high 14 digs. Senior Tamara Leslie added 12 digs and Carmen Fernandez finished with a match-high 48 assists.
 
Ariel Richard had a match-high 21 kills for Coppin State, which fell to 6-8 overall, 0-1 in the MEAC. Cindy Okpegbue added 17 kills and Gabrielle Otero had a team-high 13 digs. Chelsee Sauni fell shy of a double-double with 41 assists and nine digs.
 
The Eagles finished with 47 total kills as a team out of 132 attempts and had 24 errors for a hitting percentage of .174 for the match. Coppin State would record five service aces, but had seven service errors.
 
Morgan State tallied 55 kills for the match on 135 attempts with 23 errors to finish with a .237 hitting percentage. Hayden tied a career-high for service aces with a match-high four to lead the Lady Bears, who finished with nine, but also committed eight service errors.
 
The Lady Bears held an 8.0-6.0 advantage in blocks over Coppin State. Jones and Prescott each had three blocks and Hayden added two for Morgan State.
 
Morgan State returns to the court this Sunday, Sept. 28, when they host the defending MEAC North and MEAC champions, the Hampton Lady Pirates. First serve is slated for 3 p.m. at Hill Field House. Hampton (6-8, 1-0 MEAC) ended a six-match losing skid on Friday with a 3-0 sweep of visiting Norfolk State.