BALTIMORE, Md. (Oct. 16, 2016)-The Morgan State volleyball team closed out its 2016 non-conference schedule with a 3-0 defeat to visiting Bethune-Cookman on Sunday afternoon at Hill Field House in a rematch of last season's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) semifinal match. Sunday's contest was the first regular season match-up since the two teams last met in 2012.
 
The Lady Bears (4-17) finished the season winless (0-15) in non-conference play with the loss. Bethune-Cookman (5-17) out of the MEAC Southern Division, recorded just its second non-conference victory of the season out of 17 attempts with yet two more non-conference opponents still to play. The Wildcats improved to 6-14 all-time against Morgan State and has now won four of the last five meetings against the Lady Bears.
 
Morgan State junior Keana Browne wrapped up a successful weekend, by finishing with a match-high 13 kills, while hitting for a team-high .308 hitting percentage. Senior captain Haley McClure added 10 kills and freshman Roi Wallace accounted for 28 assists. Fellow freshman Jasmin Hubbard, despite a slow start, collected a season-best 22 digs for the Lady Bears, who finished just 1-2 during its three-game homestand.
 
The Wildcats, who were coming off another loss to Howard on Friday night in their 2015 rematch of the MEAC title match, was led by freshman Alana Handy's, who earned a double-double with a team-high 12 kills and added 11 digs. Phylecia Armstrong had 11 kills and J'nai Higgins recorded a double-double, finishing with 14 digs and 31 assists, both team highs.
 
Bethune-Cookman finished the contest with a total of 42 kills and a team hitting percentage of .284, behind the hitting of Rakaya Neely (.700) and Armstrong (.526). The Lady Bears had a hitting percentage of .082 and totaled 31 kills.
 
Morgan State held a 3.0-1.0 blocking advantage over Bethune-Cookman with Browne leading the way with three blocks and Natashia Barker adding two. Neely recorded the Wildcats' lone solo block.
 
Morgan State will now turn its attention back to MEAC Northern Division play for the duration of the regular season. The Lady Bears will first head to the Virginia Tidewater area to take on Hampton on Thursday, Oct. 20 at 6 p.m. at Holland Hall in Hampton, Va. Morgan State will then travel to Norfolk, Va. to face Norfolk State on Sunday, Oct. 23. First serve is at 3 p.m. at Gill Gymnasium.