HAMPTON, Va. (Oct. 20, 2016)-The Morgan State volleyball team opened up the second half of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) slate on Thursday evening with a disappointing 3-1 (25-17, 19-25, 22-25, 14-25) northern division loss to Hampton at Holland Hall.
 
The loss was just the eighth time ever for Morgan State, who now leads the all-time series with Hampton 40-8, as both teams split the season series each winning on its home floor.
 
The Lady Bears (4-18, 4-3 MEAC) dropped out of third-place in the northern division and into fourth with the loss, while Norfolk State moved into third. The Spartans host Coppin State on Friday evening before facing Morgan State on Sunday, Oct. 23.

The loss to Hampton ended a three-match winning streak over the Lady Pirates, as well as the Lady Bears' two-match winning streak against northern division foes.

Micah Leavell led the Lady Pirates with a double-double of 12 kills and 10 digs, while Lena Washington also had a double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs. Summer Humes finished with a match-high 16 digs and Brianna Lilly recorded a match-high 35 assists.
 
Hampton (4-15, 3-5 MEAC) jumped out to an early 6-3 lead, but the Lady Bears pulled within 6-5. Trailing 8-6, the Lady Bears used a 3-0 spurt to take their first lead of the set at 9-8 to force a Hampton timeout. Morgan State upped its lead to 15-10 behind back-to-back service aces by Keana Browne to force a Hampton timeout. The Lady Bears would later go on a 5-2 run, capped off by three straight blocks by the Lady Bears to increase the lead to 22-14. Morgan State would then close out the opening set with a block for the 25-17 victory.
 
Despite recording just four kills on 18 attempts and four errors in the opening set, once Morgan State gained control and cruised to an eight-point victory, it appeared as if the Lady Bears would take care of business and finish off Hampton. However that would not be the case, as the Lady Pirates had other plans.

Both teams traded points back-and-forth in Set 2, until the host Lady Pirates put together a 3-0 run to take the largest lead of the set at 11-7. Morgan State later used a 6-2 run to even the score at 13 all. Hampton went up 19-16 to force a Morgan timeout. The Lady Bears trailed 21-19, but host Hampton closed out the match by scoring the final four points for the 25-19 victory to even up the match at a set apiece heading into the 10-minute intermission.
 
Hampton came out of the break still on fire, as it scored the first four points and held a quick 6-1 lead to start Set 3. Morgan State however responded with five straight points to even the score at 6-6. The Lady Bears would use a 5-0 run to take a 14-11 lead and force a Hampton timeout. But the host Lady Pirates would not go away, responding with an 11-5 run to take a 22-19 lead. Both teams would score two straight points, before the Lady Pirates' Ashlyn Dunlop finally put the set away with a kill for the 25-22 victory.
 
Hampton held a 5-2 lead and the Lady Bears responded with three straight points to even the set at 5-5. The Lady Pirates would score the next four points in part of a 9-3 spurt to take a 14-8 lead. Hampton then used a 6-2 run, where they scored five straight points to increase its lead to 20-10. Morgan State would get no closer than eight points and the Lady Pirates sealed the deal by scoring the final three points for a 25-14 win.
 
Morgan State was led by Haley McClure's match-high 14 kills, while Roi Wallace finished with 23 assists.Jasmine Hubbard the Lady Bears' defensively, finishing with a team-high 13 digs.

The Lady Bears would finish the match with 29 kills on 127 attempts with 31 attack errors for a -.016 hitting percentage. Norfolk State totaled 44 kills on 126 attempts and had 25 attack errors for a .151 hitting percentage.
 
Morgan State did have a couple bright spots on the evening with its serving and blocking. The Lady Bears had a match-high 11 service aces with Victoria Turnbough, McClure and Browne all finishing with three aces. Norfolk State had four aces with 11 service errors.
 
Behind a career- and match-high seven blocks from Browne, the guests held an 8.0-6.0 advantage in the blocking department. McClure and Turnbough each added four and three blocks, respectively.

Morgan State will now have an extra day off to try and enjoy its homecoming festivities, before heading back to work when they visit Norfolk State on Sunday. First serve is slated for 3 pm at Gill Gymnasium in Norfolk, Va.