Morgan State University Athletics

GREENVILLE, N.C. (Sept. 6, 2014)-Morgan State junior Carmen Fernandez recorded a double-double, finishing with a match-high 31 assists and adding 10 digs, as Morgan State handed Tennessee Tech a 3-0 non-conference defeat in the East Carolina Invitational on Saturday morning at Minges Coliseum.

Fernandez, who also added a solo block and a service ace, finished the day with three kills on four attempts for a hitting percentage of .750. Arianna Hayden totaled a team-high 10 kills and chipped in with four digs and a team-high two blocks, both solos, while Evely Macedo tallied nine kills and eight digs for Morgan State, which improved to 1-1 in the tournament. Samantha Prescott had nine kills with four digs and Minja Rankov notched a match-high 15 digs. 

The Golden Eagles (1-5) were led by Cody Dodd, who had a match-high 15 kills. Sharon Anderson finished with 25 assists and a team-high seven digs. Jordan Wachowiak notched a match-high eight blocks, including two solo, while Dodd and Kellie Williams finished with four and three blocks, respectively, as TTU held a 10.5 to 3.0 blocking advantage over Morgan State. 

Morgan State (2-4) scored the first three points in the opening set, then gave up the next two, before putting together 11 consecutive points in part of a 15-2 spurt to take an 18-4 lead. The Lady Bears hold a 24-9 cushion, but the Golden Eagles would not go away quietly, scoring four straight points to pull within 24-13. Morgan State's Shayna Hunt-Colon would finally end the match with a kill from the left side of the court for the 25-13 victory.  

Hayden led the Lady Bears in the first set with a high of six kills, while Dinah Jones added four kills on six attempts. Prescott was a perfect 3-for-3. 

The second set the Lady Bears would have to work, as they found themselves trailing early, 7-2. A 6-3 run by Morgan State pulled the Lady Bears within 10-8, but the Golden Eagles used three straight points to extend their advantage to 13-8. Trailing 16-11, Morgan State went on a 9-3 run, capped off with a block by Carmen Fernandez to give the Lady Bears their first lead of the set at 20-19. The teams would trade points, until a mini 3-0 run by Tennessee Tech gave the Golden Eagles a 24-22 lead. However, the Lady Bears would end the run with a kill by Dinah Jones. On the serve of Fernandez, Jones would record the next kill for the Lady Bears to even the score at 24 all. With Fernandez still serving, Morgan State would score the next two points as well, to complete the comeback and close out the set by scoring the final four points.

Set 3 saw the Lady Bears break an 11-11 tie with two consecutive points in the midst of a 6-1 run to take a 17-12 lead. Tennessee Tech got within four points at 19-15, but the Lady Bears closed out the set and the match by scoring the final six points for the 25-15 victory.

Morgan State finished the match with 45 kills and a hitting percentage of .322, while Tennessee Tech totaled 27 kills and a .156 hitting percentage.

The Lady Bears close out the East Carolina Invitational tonight with a 7 p.m. contest against host East Carolina.