Morgan State University Athletics

GREENVILLE, N.C. (Sept. 5, 2014)-The Morgan State volleyball team returned to action on Friday morning with a non-conference match against UNC Wilmington in the opener of the East Carolina Invitational at Minges Coliseum. The Lady Bears would drop a 3-0 (17-25, 23-25, 18-25) decision to the Seahawks.

Morgan Kline led the Seahawks (4-1) with a team-high 12 kills, while Alyssa Desjardins and Victoria Phillips recorded 20 and 19 kills, respectively. Lindsay Harmann tallied a team-high seven digs and Morgan Owney finished with six.

Morgan State (1-4) was led by senior middle hitter Zuri Smith, who finished with a match-high 13 kills. A native of Inglewood, Calif., Smith, who last season was named to the All-East Carolina Class Team, committed just one error in 19 attempts to finish with a team-high .632 hitting percentage.

Junior transfer Evely Macedo added 10 kills and tied Minja Rankov with a match-high eight digs. Junior transfer Carmen Fernandez totaled a match-high 36 assists to go with three kills, four digs, a block and a service ace. 

Despite the loss, the Lady Bears just about out played UNCW in almost every statistical category. Morgan State recorded more kills (46-42), had more attempts (112-86) and digs (35-33).

However, the difference in the match came in the category of errors committed by Morgan State. As a team the Lady Bears had 17 attack errors, while UNCW only had five. Morgan State also totaled seven service errors, while the Seahawks only had two service errors.

In the first set, the Lady Bears fell behind 20-11, before going on a mini 3-1 run to pull within seven points at 21-14. That would be as close as Morgan State would get, as it dropped the first set 25-17.

Morgan State jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead and held an 8-4 cushion, before the Seahawks came to life. A 9-4 spurt by UNCW gave the Seahawks a 13-12 lead. The teams traded 3-0 runs before UNCW added two straight points to take a 21-18 lead. After the Lady Bears countered with a 4-1 run to even the score at 22 all, UNCW scored two straight to take a 24-22 lead. Morgan State got a kill from Smith to pull within a point, but a service ace on the Lady Bears game UNCW the 25-23 victory. 

The third set was a back and forth affair. The Seahawks extended their lead to 16-13, before Morgan State went on a 5-3 run to close the gap to 19-18. But UNCW would end any chances of a Morgan State victory by scoring six consecutive points for the 25-18 win. 

As a team UNC Wilmington held a 6.0-2.0 blocking advantage over the Lady Bears. Leah Gagliardi led the way with a match-high four blocks, while Meredith Peacock had three.

The Lady Bears return to action on Saturday, Sept. 6, when they take on Tennessee Tech in a non-conference match at 10 a.m. Morgan State will then close out the East Carolina Invitational with a 7 p.m. non-conference match against host East Carolina. Both matches will be played at Minges Coliseum.