PRINCESS ANNE, Md. (Oct. 6, 2016)-The Morgan State volleyball team returned to action on Thursday night after a week-long layoff and unfortunately was dealt a 3-0 (25-16, 25-13, 25-12) road loss by the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Northern Division match at the Hytche Athletic Center.
 
The Lady Bears fell to 2-16, 2-2 in the MEAC with the loss and dropped into a third-place tie with both Hampton and Norfolk State, two teams that Morgan State currently holds the tie-breaker over. UMES improved to 10-10 overall and sits in sole possession of second in the league standings at 3-1.
 
Keana Browne led the Lady Bears with a match-high 11 kills and had a team-high hitting percentage of .381. Roi Wallace finished with 19 assists and added 10 digs to record her first double-double of her career. Jasmin Hubbard recorded a match-high 11 digs in the loss.
 
UMES was led by Mere Serea, who finished with 10 kills, while Lucia Babic added nine kills. Iva Vujosevic and Koya Sowells recorded 10 digs each, while Ivana Blazevic had a match-high 32 assists.
 
Morgan State held a 3-2 lead in the opening set, but the host Lady Hawks scored seven straight points in part of a 9-1 run to take an 11-4 lead. The Lady Bears countered with a mini 3-0 run, to pull within 11-7, but would get no closer. UMES would close out the set with a 5-2 run for the 25-16 victory.
 
In Set 2, UMES scored five of the first six points and held a 16-9 lead to force a Morgan State timeout. The Lady Hawks' lead would blossom to 10 points (22-12) as they used a 6-3 spurt to force another Morgan State timeout. The hosts would then seal the deal by scoring three of the final four points scored.
 
The Lady Hawks broke a 4-4 tie in the final set by scoring the next three points as part of a 12-2 run to take a 16-6 lead. Morgan State scored four straight points to pull within 16-10, but the damage had already been done. UMES would go on a 6-1 spurt, including five straight points to up the lead to 22-11, and cruise to a 25-12 victory.
 
Morgan State finished the match with 21 kills on 82 attempts and 16 errors for a hitting percentage of .061. The Lady Hawks recorded 41 kills on 93 attempts and six errors for a .376 hitting percentage.
 
The Lady Hawks held a 5.0-4.0 blocking advantage over Morgan State. Kristin Fink led the team with a match-high three blocks, including two solos. Morgan State was led by Monette Daniels' three blocks.
 
Morgan State will take a few days off, before traveling to Dover, Del. to take on the Delaware State Hornets on Sunday, Oct. 9. First serve is at 3 p.m. from Memorial Hall. The Hornets are currently 0-16, 0-3 MEAC heading into Friday's home contest against winless Coppin State (0-17, 0-3 MEAC).