Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 CHICAGO, Ill. (Sept. 5, 2015)-The Morgan State volleyball team concluded the UIC Invitational with a split on Saturday, first falling to Central Connecticut State by a score of 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-14). The Lady Bears would sweep Chicago State, 3-0 (26-24, 25-13, 25-18) to earn their first set wins and match victory of the season. It was the first-ever meeting between Morgan State and Chicago State.
 
With the win, Morgan State finished the weekend with a 1-2 record. All matches were played at Flames Athletic Center on the University of Illinois at Chicago campus.
 
Playing in her final match of the weekend in her hometown and in front of friends and family, senior Arianna Hayden played her best match of the season, finishing with a match-high 16 kills, a hitting percentage of .333, a match-high three blocks and added seven digs in the win over Chicago State.
 
Keana Browne, who was named to the all-tournament team, finished with nine kills, three digs and a solo block, and had a hitting percentage of .368. Samantha Prescott had a match-high 15 digs, while Carmen Fernandez collected her first double-double of the season, recording a match-high 33 assists and 13 digs. Fernandez also had a match-high five service aces for the Lady Bears, which totaled 13 aces as a team.
 
Morgan State (1-6) finished the match recording a season-best 41 kills and had a .202 hitting percentage. Chicago State finished with 28 kills and a .139 hitting percentage.
 
Neither team could put the other away in the first set. The Cougars held an 8-3 lead, before Morgan State began to get going. Trailing 17-15, Morgan State put together four straight points in the midst of a 5-1 run to take a 20-18 lead. The Lady Bears held a 24-22 lead, but Chicago State evened the match at 24 all. The Lady Bears however scored the next two points for the 26-24 win. It would be the first set win for the Lady Bears this season.
 
In Set 2 the Lady Bears jumped out to an 8-1 lead and held a 13-3 advantage, following a kill by Browne. The lead remained a 10-point cushion until Morgan State scored three straight points to take a 24-12 lead. The Lady Bears would win 25-13 to take a 2-0 lead.
 
The Lady Bears held a 12-9 lead in the third set, but the Cougars responded with a 5-0 run to take a 14-12 advantage. Morgan State battled back with a 9-2 spurt to take a 21-16 advantage after two consecutive service aces by Monette Daniels. The Lady Bears would close out the match with a 25-18 win.
 
The Cougars (0-5) were led by Elli Woinowsky and Arieta Vaimaona, who both recorded eight kills. Corey Davis fell short of a double-double with 26 assists and eight digs. Davis also recorded both of Chicago State's two service aces. Shontanae Addison had a team-high 10 digs, while Woinowsky had eight.
 
Earlier that morning the Lady Bears suffered their sixth straight loss to start the season when they lost to Central Connecticut State. It was Morgan State's first-ever loss to the Blue Devils in the series' three meetings.
 
Raquel Quirarte had a match-high 10 kills and Erika Jones added nine to lead the Blue Devils. Rachel Fish finished with a match-high 15 digs and had a match-high four service aces. Makenna Lommori tallied 27 assists and eight digs. CCSU held a 9.0-4.0 blocking advantage over Morgan State with Maddie Smith and Quirarte each collecting four blocks. Quirarte had two solo blocks.
 
The Blue Devils (5-1), who went 2-1 during the weekend, broke a 10-10 tie in the opening set with a 6-2 run, capped off by back-to-back aces. Morgan State responded with three straight points to pull within 16-15. The Lady Bears would use another 3-0 run to get within 24-23, following an ace by Haley McClure. But the Blue Devils would put the set away with a kill for the 25-23 win.
 
The two teams traded points back and forth in Set 2 until CCSU went on an 8-2 spurt to take a 15-9 lead. Morgan State got within 17-13, but would get no closer. The Blue Devils would close out the set on an 8-3 run for the 25-16 win.
 
In the third and final set Morgan State bounced back from an 8-3 deficit and pulled within 10-9. CCSU would score the next six points to take a 16-9 advantage to gain control of the contest. The Blue Devils would finish off Morgan State with a 25-14 victory.
 
Offensively Morgan State was led by Keana Browne, who had seven kills and led the Lady Bears with two blocks. Arianna Hayden recorded six kills to go with four digs and a block. Carmen Fernandez had 14 assists and a team-leading two service aces, while Samantha Prescott totaled a team-high 13 digs. Monet Fontaine tallied two kills on three attempts for a season-best .667 hitting percentage.
 
The Lady Bears will begin their 2015 home schedule on Tuesday, Sept. 8, when they play host to Georgetown. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. at Hill Field House. The Hoyas lead the all-time series, 3-0. The two teams, which had a three-match series from 2007-09, have not met in six years to the day, since a 3-0 victory by the Hoyas on Sept. 8, 2009 at Hill Field House. This will be the third time in the series' four meetings that Georgetown will visit the Baltimore campus.