MSU Notes

BALTIMORE, Md. (Aug. 25, 2017)-The Morgan State volleyball team opens up the 2017 campaign this weekend on the road when it competes in the Spartan-Demon Deacon Classic (Aug. 25-26) on the campus of the University of North Carolina Greensboro. The Lady Bears begin the season against Wake Forest on Friday, Aug. 25 at 4:30 p.m. Morgan State will then face the host Spartans on Saturday, Aug. 26 at 1:30 p.m., before closing out the tournament with a contest against the University of Massachusetts Lowell at 4:30 p.m. All matches will be played at Fleming Gymnasium.
 
MSU AGAINST THE FIELD: Prior to this weekend, Morgan State has never squared off against Wake Forest or the University of Massachusetts Lowell. The Lady Bears and UNCG have met four times entering Saturday's contest, with the Spartans holding a 4-0 series lead.
 
NEXT UP: The Lady Bears will travel to Cape Girardeau, Mo. to compete in the Redhawks Invitational, hosted by Southeast Missouri State (Sept. 1-2). Morgan State will face the host Redhawks on Friday, Sept. 1 at 12:30 p.m. CT, before closing out the day against Evansville at 4:30 p.m. MSU will conclude the tournament against the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Sept. 2 at 11 a.m.
  
OPENING SERVE: Morgan State is 8-16 in season openers since the 1993 season, after it dropped a 3-0 decision to La Salle in the last season's opener in the La Salle Invitational (8/26). The Lady Bears, who have lost five consecutive season openers, last won on opening day in 2011 when they defeated Saint Peter's 3-0 at the La Salle Invitational (8/26/11).
 
MORGAN PICKED THIRD IN MEAC NORTH: Morgan State was picked to finish third in the northern division of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) preseason poll, as voted by the league's head coaches and sports information directors. Last year, the Lady Bears were picked to finish third and went 7-21 overall, 7-5 in the MEAC good for a third-place finish.
 
BOZIER ENTERS 30TH SEASON: Morgan State head coach Ramona Riley-Bozier enters her 30th season at the helm of the Lady Bear program.  The all-time winningest coach at Morgan State (433), Riley-Bozier guided the Lady Bears to 88 consecutive MEAC Northern Division wins between 1994-2003. She has led MSU to five MEAC Championships, three NCAA Tournament appearances and earned MEAC Coach of the Year honors five times. Bozier also coached the softball team at MSU for seven seasons and in 1999 led the team to its only MEAC title game appearance. A native of Kansas City, Mo., Bozier, is a graduate of Morgan State, where she was a two-sport start in volleyball and track. She is one of 11 players in the history of the program to have registered 1,000 career kills. On the track, Bozier was a three-time All-American and one of the top triple jumpers at Morgan. She still holds the UMBC meet record in the 60 meter dash (1983) and ran the first leg of the 4X100 relay, which in 1986 set the school record in a time of 44.47 seconds, which also still stands. That squad would also win the Penn Relays and finished second that year at the Division I National Championships. Bozier was inducted into the Morgan State Hall of Fame in 2003.
 
SOMEONE NEW: Morgan State will square off against eight first-time opponents this season. When the Lady Bears head to Greensboro, N.C. for the Spartan-Demon Deacon Classic (Aug. 25-26), they will face Wake Forest for the first time ever in the season opener and then the University of Massachusetts Lowell in the finale. A week later Morgan State will travel to Cape Girardeau, Mo. for the Redhawks Invitational (Sept. 1-2), where they will face host Southeast Missouri State, Evansville and the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, all for the first time. The Lady Bears and Presbyterian will meet for the first time in the finale of the Charm City Challenge (Sept. 9) on the campus of Loyola-Maryland. Morgan State will then take on Western Michigan and host University of North Carolina Wilmington for the first time, when they meet in Wilmington, N.C. in the Courtyard by Marriott Tournament (Sept. 15-16).
 
FOUR NAMED TO MEAC ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM: Morgan State had four players named to the 2016 MEAC Volleyball All-Academic Team, based on their academic success during the 2015-16 school year. Two of the four recognized (Keana Browne and Michaela Collins) return for the 2017 season. Collins was also named to the MEAC Commissioner's All-Academic Team for maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better during the 2016-17 academic year.
 
TOURNAMENT EXPOSURE: Morgan State will face two opponents this season (American and Howard) that reached the NCAA Volleyball Tournament in 2016. The Lady Bears will visit American on Sept. 5 in Washington, D.C. and will face defending MEAC champion Howard on Oct. 4 in Baltimore and again on Nov. 10 in Washington, D.C.
 
WELCOME TO THE CAVE: Morgan State will welcome the addition of six newcomers to the 2017 squad, three of which are freshman and three junior transfers. Those newcomers are freshmen Shadae Debraux (Fort Washington, Md.), Trinity Smith (Detroit, Mich.) and Mykaela Ross (Farmington Hill, Mich.) along with junior transfers Cristen Coryatt (Sugar Land, Texas), Kheanna Landrum (Goodyear, Ariz.) and Deja Lester (Flint, Mich.).
 
SAYING GOODBYE: Morgan State will say goodbye to its two seniors, Keana Browne and Michaela Collins prior to its regular season finale 'Senior Day' match against crosstown rival Coppin State on Nov. 12 at Hill Field House.
 
2017 MEAC CHAMPIONSHIP: This year's 2017 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference volleyball championship is scheduled for November 17-19 at the William P. Hytche Athletic Center on the campus of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in Princess Anne, Md.