PRINCESS ANNE, Md. (Nov. 17, 2017)-Florida A&M (FAMU), the No. 2 seed from the Southern Division, opened the 2017 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Volleyball Championship on Friday morning with a 3-1 (25-17, 23-25, 25-23, 25-13) win over No. 3 Morgan State from the Northern Division in the W.P. Hytche Athletic Center.

The Lady Rattlers (14-11) advanced to Saturday's 12 p.m. semifinal against Northern top-seed Maryland Eastern Shore, who swept North Carolina Central.

Nicole Abreu led FAMU with 23 kills and 12 digs, hitting .455 for the match. Maria Yvette Garcia also recorded a double-double, racking up 14 kills and 12 digs.

MEAC Rookie of the Year Candelaria Herrera added 10 kills and six digs.

The Lady Rattlers opened with a 25-17 victory in the first set, before Morgan State (8-18) responded in the second set. Though the Lady Bears controlled that set largely throughout, FAMU tied the set late at 18-18. But Morgan State used a 4-0 spurt to go up 22-18 after an ace from Cristen Coryatt. 

Morgan State (8-18) tied the match at 1-1, winning the second set 25-23. 

But FAMU answered, taking the third 25-23. The Lady Rattlers then opened the fourth set on an 8-2 run before ultimately taking the set decisively, 25-13.

Coryatt led the Lady Bears with 15 kills and 12 digs. Natashia Barker also had a double-double, notching 12 kills and 13 digs. Keana Browne added nine kills, while Jasmin Hubbard totaled a match-high 16 digs. Roi Wallace collected 35 assists and seven digs in the loss, which ended Morgan State's three-match winning streak.

The Lady Bears finished the match with a 10.0-8.0 advantage in blocks over Morgan State. Browne led the way with a match-high six blocks. Monette Daniels had four blocks and Coryatt finished with three.