GREENSBORO, N.C. (Aug. 26, 2017)-The Morgan State volleyball team picked up its first set win of the season, but UMass Lowell would win the next three sets to claim a 3-1 (25-18, 25-14, 25-12, 25-23) victory over the Lady Bears in the finale of the Spartan-Demon Deacon Classic on Saturday at Fleming Gymnasium.

The River Hawks (1-2) were led by Katherine Claybaugh, who tallied a match-high 16 kills and Delaney Mendez recorded a double-double, finishing with a match-high 40 assists and 10 digs. Lindsey Visvardis finished with a match-high 17 digs and Malorie McIver added 16 digs, as UMass Lowell recorded 64 digs as a team.

Haley Shimon added 11 kills for the River Hawks, who finished the match with 52 kills for a hitting percentage of .248. UMass Lowell hit a match-best .565 in the third set and had three players hit over .400 percent for the contest.

The Lady Bears used a 4-0 run to take an 11-8 lead in the opening set. An 8-4 spurt capped off by Natashia Barker, extended Morgan's lead to 22-16. The Lady Bears would end the set on a kill by Keana Browne, which gave Morgan a 25-18 Set 1 victory, its first set win of the season.

Morgan State took a brief 2-1 lead in Set 2, but UMass Lowell scored the next five points to take a 6-2 lead. The Lady Bears would use a 4-0 run to pull within 12-10, but the River Hawks countered with five straight points to extend their lead to 17-10. Another 4-0 spurt by the River Hawks gave them a 21-12 cushion over Morgan State and they would eventually win the set 25-14.

In the third set UMass Lowell scored the first three points and then added a 5-0 run to take a quick 11-3 lead. An 11-4 spurt by the River Hawks increased their lead to 22-7 and UMass Lowell would go on to win 25-12. The River Hawks would finish the set with 15 kills and had a hitting percentage of .565. 

A kill by Browne in the fourth set capped off a 4-0 Morgan State run and pulled the Lady Bears within 14-13. But a 7-3 run by UMass Lowell, extended its lead to 21-16. The Lady Bears would not go away, as they scored four straight points in the midst of a 7-1 run to take a 23-22 lead, their first lead of the set. Unfortunately, Morgan State would not be able to close out, as the River Hawks scored the final three points for the 25-23 victory.

The Lady Bears (0-3) were led by Browne, who finished with 12 kills, two digs and three blocks. Cristen Coryatt tallied nine kills and added 13 digs, two service aces and a block in the loss. Roi Wallace recorded a double-double, finishing with 30 assists and 10 digs.

Morgan State totaled 37 kills for the match, but committed 30 attack errors. The Lady Bears held a 5.0-3.0 blocking advantage over UMass Lowell.

Morgan State returns to action on Friday, Sept. 1, when the Lady Bears travel to Cape Girardeau, Mo., to take on host Southeast Missouri State in the opener of the Redhawks Invitational. First serve is at 12:30 p.m. CT. The Lady Bears will then end the day with a match against Evansville at 4:30 p.m. Morgan State closes out the tournament on Saturday with a rare match-up against a Southwestern Athletic Conference foe, when it faces Arkansas Pine Bluff at 11 a.m.