WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 14, 2018)-Playing in front of a national audience live on ESPN+, the Lady Bears' volleyball team jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but was unable to hold on, as they fell 3-2 (25-22, 25-22, 24-26, 21-25, 9-15) to host George Washington in the nightcap of the Dig The District Invitational on Friday night at the Charles E. Smith Center.

Cristen Coryatt was one of three Lady Bears to recorded double-doubles, finishing with a match-high 21 kills and 18 digs, both team-highs. Zoe McBride totaled 15 kills and 17 digs, while Roi Wallace tallied a match-high 52 assists and added 15 digs. Kalysia Bates nearly had a triple double, finishing with nine kills, eight digs and a match- and season-best 10 blocks.

Morgan State (5-8), which recorded 55 kills in the match and 87 digs, also got strong performances from Brook Adams, who finished with seven kills and 10 digs. Adams would also add four blocks to help the Lady Bears hold a 12.0-11.0 blocking advantage over the host Colonials. Jasmin Hubbard recorded 16 digs.

The Colonials (5-5) were led by Skylar Iott, who had a double-double of a team-high 20 kills and 19 digs. Jamieson Lee also finished with a double-double with 46 assists and 12 digs. Kelsey Clark and Marianna Warren added 15 and 11 kills, respectively. Bella Bowman finished with a match-high of 22 digs, as George Washington tallied 90 digs for the match. Sydney Welch and Heather Merryman each had 14 digs. Lete and Lee had eight and seven blocks apiece.

The Lady Bears appeared to be heading to a sweep and their first-ever win over George Washington in eight meetings, when they took a 24-21 lead following a kill by Coryatt. However, the Morgan State could not seal the deal and the momentum quickly changed in the Colonials' favor, as the hosts would score five straight points to earn the win.

Iott recorded a kill and Alexis Lete and Jaimeson Lee recorded back-to-back blocks to even the score at 24 all. Lete then followed with a kill to give the hosts a 25-24 lead and an attack error on Morgan State ended the set, giving the Colonials the 26-24 victory.

In Set 4, Morgan State would score the first four points and led by as much as five at 9-4. GW battled back and took its first lead (13-12) on a block by Lete. From that point it would be back-and-forth until the Colonials scored two straight points to break an 18 all tie. Morgan State evened the score at 20, but never reclaimed the lead, as the Colonials outscored the Lady Bears 5-1 down the stretch for the 25-21 victory, thus tying up the match at 2-2.

The Colonials would score five straight points in the fifth set to jump out to a 6-3 lead and held an 8-6 advantage when the teams switched sides. Morgan State got within a point at 7-8, but GW would use a 6-1 run to take control of the set with a 14-8 lead. A kill by McBride ended the run, but Iott's kill would give the hosts the 15-9 victory and complete the comeback. 

The Lady Bears close out the tournament with a contest on Saturday, Sept. 15 against Alabama A&M out of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). First serve is a 3 p.m. at McDonough Arena on the campus of Georgetown University. Saturday's match-up will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs.