PRINCESS ANNE, Md. (Nov. 12, 2018)-Lucia Babic recorded a match-high 20 kills and Rachel Kayongo added 12, as host Maryland Eastern Shore (MDES) defeated the Lady Bears, 3-0 (26-24, 26-24, 25-20) in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) regular season finale on Sunday afternoon at the Hytche Athletic Center.
 
The Hawks' Ivana Blazevic had a match-high 37 assists and Koya Sowells had 10 digs. Kayongo also added 10 digs to record a double-double on the afternoon. Stella Johnson and Babic each totaled three service aces.
 
Maryland Eastern Shore (10-15, 7-3 MEAC) would avenge an earlier loss to the Lady Bears and with the win wrapped up the No. 2 seed in the northern division. The Lady Bears, who end the regular season losing five of their final six matches, enter the league tournament as the fourth-seed in the northern division.
 
Morgan State (13-14, 5-5 MEAC) was led by Monette Daniels (.381) and Kalysia Bates (.389), who both recorded 10 kills in the match. Roi Wallace finished with 32 assists, while Zoe McBride, Brook Adams, Jasmin Hubbard and Wallace all tallied eight digs.
 
The Hawks took a 24-22 advantage in Set 1, and was a point away from victory when Kayongo recorded a block. However, a service error by MDES, followed by a kill from Cristen Coryatt evened the score at 24 all. Morgan State would then have a service error and Alexis Lee ended the set with a kill to give the Hawks a 26-24 victory.
 
In Set 2, it was the Lady Bears who were a point away from victory, as they went up by three points at 24-21. Morgan State broke a 21-21 score with a kill by Monette Daniels. McBride and Mykaela Ross teamed up for a block and Daniels and Ross teamed up for a block on the ensuing play to give the guests a 24-21 lead. However, MDES would score five unanswered points to steal the victory, 26-24.
 
The Hawks jumped out to a 12-6 lead in the third set and never looked back. MDES would increase its lead to 24-16 after a service ace from Babic. The Lady Bears would score the next four points to pull within 24-20, before an attack error on Morgan State ended the set and the match.
 
The Lady Bears would finish the match hitting .194 with 37 kills, while host MDES recorded 44 kills and had a hitting percentage of .205.
 
Both teams concluded the contest with 8.0 blocks. Lidia Chery tallied three blocks, including two solo for the Hawks, while Ross recorded a match-high five blocks, including one solo. Bates had four blocks, including two solos.
 
The Lady Bears will now turn their focus to the upcoming MEAC Volleyball Championship (Nov. 16-18) in Washington, D.C., hosted by Howard University. Morgan State, which will be the No. 4 seed out of the MEAC Northern Division, will take on the Rattlers of Florida A&M, who finished as the MEAC Southern Division champions in the first round on Friday, Nov. 16. First serve is at 2 p.m. at Burr Gymnasium.