CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (Sept. 1, 2017)-The Morgan State volleyball team dropped its opener of the Redhawks Invitational on Friday afternoon to host Southeast Missouri (SEMO), 3-0 (25-16, 26-24, 26-24) at Show Me Center. The contest was the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

Morgan State (0-4) was led by Cristen Coryatt and Keana Browne, who both recorded nine kills. Natashia Barker tallied five kills and seven digs, while Michaela Collins hit for a match-high .571 with four kills on seven attempts and no errors. Collins along with Coryatt finished with six digs. Hubbard led the team with a match-high nine digs. Roi Wallace recorded a match-high 29 assists and added a team-high three blocks.

Southeast Missouri (2-2) was led by Krissa Gearring's match-high 15 kills and nine digs. Gearring finished with a team-high .538 hitting percentage and is now five kills shy of reaching the 1,000-kill plateau for her career. Madeline Grimm and Nzingha Clarke each added seven kills. Keegan Fornoff (22 assists) and Allie Henkelman (11) split the duties at setter.

The host Redhawks finished the match with 35 kills for a hitting percentage of .233, while Morgan State tallied 32 kills for .109. SEMO also held a 7.0-4.0 blocking advantage over the Lady Bears.

Hitting and serving errors would prove costly for Morgan State in the match. The Lady Bears would commit 21 attack errors and despite seven service aces, Morgan State would have 10 service errors. 

SEMO used a 7-0 run in the opening set to break a 12 all tie and take a 19-12 lead to eventually win, 25-16.

In Set 2, Morgan State led by as much as five points (18-13) and held a 20-17 advantage, following a kill by Browne, but was unable to hang on for the win. Back-to-back kills by Coryatt put the guests up 23-20 and an attack error on the Redhawks gave the Lady Bears a 24-23 lead. However SEMO would score the final three points for the 26-24 victory.

Morgan State went up by as much as six points (20-14) on a service ace from Collins. The Lady Bears held a 22-17 lead when Wallace and Coryatt combined for a block. The host Redhawks responded with six unanswered points to take a 23-22 lead. The Lady Bears got two straight kills to reclaim the lead at 24-23. But SEMO would score the next three points to win 26-24.

Next up for Morgan State will be the Purple Aces of Evansville. First serve is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. CT. Evansville defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 3-0 in the opener earlier in the day.