BALTIMORE, Md. (Oct. 29, 2017)-Natashia Barker totaled a match-high 11 kills and added a match-high 10 digs to record her sixth double-double of the season, as the Lady Bears defeated visiting Norfolk State, 3-0 (25-11, 25-20, 25-12) in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Northern Division contest at Hill Field House on Sunday afternoon. The match was the Lady Bears' annual Dig Pink event and the team honored former VP of Business Services, Vinetta Paige McCullough.

The win completed a season series sweep of the Spartans and was the sixth consecutive victory over Norfolk State, as Morgan State improved to 21-5 all-time in the series. The victory also gave the Lady Bears their first two-match winning streak of the season.

Cristen Coryatt and Keana Browne each added eight kills, as the Lady Bears hit .268 as a team. Roi Wallace tallied 25 assists and added eight digs, while Jasmin Hubbard collected seven digs.

Morgan State (5-16, 4-4 MEAC) held a 4.0-2.0 blocking advantage over the Spartans. Monette Daniels and Coryatt led the Lady Bears with a match-high three blocks each.  

The Lady Bears jumped on the Spartans from the start, recording 14 kills and hitting for a .440 in the opening set. Morgan State took a 5-1 lead, but Norfolk State used a 5-1 run to even the score at 6-6. The hosts went on a 10-2 spurt to take a 16-8 advantage and never looked back. Morgan State scored six straight points to take its largest lead of the set at 24-10, before winning 25-11. Norfolk State would record five kills and hit .000 in the set.

Set 2 was much closer early on, as neither team led by more than a point. The score was tied at 8-8, before the Spartans began to pull away and eventually led by as much as five points at 17-12 on a kill from Hope Forsythe. Morgan State began to chip away and used an 8-2 run to reclaim the lead at 20-19, following a bad set by Norfolk State. The Lady Bears finished the set on a 4-1 spurt to win 25-20.

In the third and final set, Morgan State again jumped out on Norfolk State, taking a quick 5-1 lead. A 7-2 run by the Lady Bears increased their lead to 12-3. The hosts later used a 6-0 run, capped off by a service ace by Mykaela Ross to extend the lead to 19-5. Barker closed out the set and match with a kill to give the Lady Bears a 25-12 victory.

Norfolk State (3-20, 0-9 MEAC) was led by Taylor Eichelberger, who was limited to six kills after setting a school record 28 kills two days earlier at Coppin State. Eichelberger also led the Spartans with five digs, while Forsythe finished with five kills and Jill Aquino had 11 assists. The Spartans finished the match with 21 kills and 20 errors on 87 attack attempts for a hitting percentage of .011.

The Lady Bears will look to extend their winning streak this Friday, Nov. 3 when they travel to Princess Anne, Md. to face the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. First serve is at 7 p.m. at Hytche Athletic Center.