BALTIMORE, Md. (Aug. 29, 2018)-The Morgan State volleyball team will have its home opener on Wednesday afternoon when it entertains Saint Peter's at Hill Field House. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m.
 
The Lady Bears (0-3) are coming off a 3-1 loss to Villanova last Saturday in the finale of the Delaware Classic in Newark, Del. Morgan State also dropped 3-0 decisions to La Salle and Delaware.
 
Senior Cristen Coryatt led Morgan State with 33 kills, while hitting for .207 and adding 27 digs, three aces, two assists and two blocks. Coryatt had her best outing with a double-double of 11 kills and 14 digs against Villanova.
 
Freshman Zoe McBride added 25 kills, 31 digs, five assists and four blocks in her first collegiate weekend. McBride hit .268 and recorded her first double-double with 14 kills and 17 digs, while adding three aces and a block in the finale against Villanova.
 
Junior Jasmin Hubbard recorded a team-leading 43 digs in three matches, including 16 digs and three assists against Villanova. Fellow junior Roi Wallace hit for 1.000 with three kills, 22 assists and seven digs against host Delaware, before recording a double-double with 38 assists and 11 digs against Villanova.
 
The Peacocks (2-3) are coming off a 3-1victory at Lafayette on Monday. Alanis Alvarado had a match-high 15 kills and Alexus Sharp added 12. Wildalys Soto and Karla Seda finished with 13 and 12 digs, respectively. Soto would total 37 assists to earn a double-double.
 
Alvarado leads Saint Peter's with 3.63 kills per set, while Seda leads the team in digs with 4.16 digs per set. Kali Viles has a team-leading 18 blocks. Soto is averaging 7.89 assists per set and Angelee Ng is contributing 7.33 per set.
 
MSU AGAINST THE PEACOCKS: The Lady Bears and Saint Peter's are meeting for the sixth time with Morgan State holding a 3-2 all-time series lead. Morgan State and the Peacocks last met on Aug. 26, 2011 in the season opener during the La Salle Invitational in Philadelphia, Pa. Morgan State would sweep Saint Peter's in three sets.
  
NEXT UP: The Lady Bears will return to the road this weekend when they travel to Kent, Ohio for the Golden Flashes Classic (Aug. 31-Sept. 1), hosted by Kent State. Morgan State will open up against Purdue Fort Wayne at noon on Friday, Aug. 31, before closing out the day against Niagara at 5 p.m. The Lady Bears will conclude the tournament on Saturday, Sept. 1 against the host Golden Flashes at noon in a match which will be televised live on ESPN3.
 
FOLLOW THE LADY BEARS ON TWITTER: Morgan volleyball fans can follow the Lady Bears on Twitter. Check out regular updates on the team which will feature live tweets from games and on road trips. To follow the Morgan State Athletics Twitter page visit Twitter.com/MorganStBears.
 
OPENING SERVE: Morgan State is 8-18 in season openers since the 1993 season, after it dropping a 3-0 decision to La Salle in last weekend's season's season opener in the Delaware Classic. The Lady Bears, who have lost seven 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 8-18 overall, 7-5 in the MEAC good for a third-place finish.
 
MORGAN-COPPIN TO HOST CHARM CITY CLASSIC: This season the Lady Bears and crosstown rival Coppin State will co-host the 2018 Charm City Classic (Sept. 21-22). This will mark the first time the Lady Bears have hosted a tournament since 2012, when they hosted the Battle at the Bay Tournament. Morgan State will serve as host of the East bracket at Hill Field House, while Coppin State will host the West bracket at the Physical Education Complex. The Classic will match-up members of the MEAC Northern Division (Morgan, Coppin, Delaware State, Norfolk State) against the MEAC Southern Division (North Carolina A&T State, North Carolina Central, South Carolina State). Morgan State will square off against N.C. A&T State on Friday at 7 p.m. and will take on S.C. State on Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
UNBEATEN STREAKS ON THE LINE: Morgan State will look to extend its winning ways, as it enters the season unbeaten against four of its opponents: Niagara (12-0), Prairie View A&M (1-0), Jackson State (1-0) and South Carolina State (21-0). The Lady Bears will face Niagara on Aug. 31 in the Golden Flashes Classic and will meet both Prairie View A&M and Jackson State in the New Orleans Tournament on Sept. 7. Morgan State will play host to South Carolina State on Sept. 22 in the finale of the Charm City Classic at Hill Field House.
 
SOMEONE NEW: Morgan State will square off against one first-time opponent this season, in Purdue Fort Wayne. The Lady Bears and the Mastodons will square off on Aug. 31 in Kent, Ohio in the opener of the Golden Flashes Classic. First serve is at noon on the campus of Kent State University.
 
CAPTAINS ANNOUNCED: Seniors Monette Daniels and Cristen Coryatt were named as the 2018 captains, while juniors Roi Wallace and Jasmin Hubbard were named as co-captains.
 
BOZIER NINE SHY OF 450: Morgan State head coach Ramona Riley-Bozier enters the 2018 season nine wins shy of career victory No. 450. Riley-Bozier, who is the all-time winningest coach at Morgan State in any sport with 441 career victories as the volleyball coach, is also the softball program's all-time career leader with 161 victories in nine seasons at the helm.
 
FOUR NAMED TO MEAC ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM: Morgan State had four players named to the 2017 MEAC Volleyball All-Academic Team, based on their academic success during the 2016-17 school year. Two of the four recognized (Jasmin Hubbard and Roi Wallace) return for the 2018 season. Kheanna Landrum and Wallace were also named to the MEAC Commissioner's All-Academic Team for maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better during the 2017-18 academic year.
 
TOURNAMENT EXPOSURE: Morgan will face two opponents this season (American and Howard) that reached the NCAA Volleyball Tournament in 2017. The Lady Bears will host American on Oct. 17 in Baltimore and will face the three-time defending MEAC champion Howard Lady Bison on Sept. 28 in Washington, D.C. and again on Oct. 26 in Baltimore.
 
WELCOME TO THE CAVE: The Lady Bears welcome the addition of seven newcomers to the 2018 squad, six of which are freshman and  one sophomore transfer. Those newcomers are freshmen Sara Brown (Bowie, Md.), Nia Smith (Odenton, Md.), Zoe McBride (Ridgefield, Wash.), Morgan Eugene (Brandywine, Md.), Jasmin Perry (Bowie, Md.) and Brook Adams (Phoenix, Ariz.) along with sophomore transfer Kalysia Bates (Phenix, Ala.).
 
SAYING GOODBYE: Morgan State will say goodbye to four seniors, Shadae Debraux, Kheanna Landrum, Deja Lester and Cristen Coryatt prior to its regular season finale 'Senior Day' match against crosstown rival Coppin State on Nov. 4 at Hill Field House.
 
2018 MEAC CHAMPIONSHIP: This year's 2018 MEAC volleyball championship will take place November 16-18 in Washington, D.C. at Burr Gymnasium on the campus of the Howard University.