BALTIMORE, Md. (Oct. 1, 2019)-The Morgan State volleyball team returns to action this Friday, when it hosts Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Southern Division foe, North Carolina Central (NCCU) in a MEAC contest at Hill Field House. First serve is at 7 p.m.
 
This will be the Eagles' second trip to Morgan State and first since the 2007 season, when the Lady Bears swept NCCU (11/3/07). The Lady Bears are 2-0 all-time against the Eagles.
  
Morgan State (7-8, 1-1 MEAC) is coming off a hard fought five-set decision to Delaware State on Sunday. The loss ended a two-match winning streak for the Lady Bears and was the squad's second home loss of the season in six matches.
 
Zoe McBride, who was named MEAC Player of the Week on Monday, recorded a match-high 25 kills and added 11 digs for the Lady Bears to record her 10th double-double of the season. Mykaela Ross hit for a match-high .611, finishing with 12 kills, while Tylar Roberson added eight kills and 12 digs. Jennevy Santos had a team-high 14 digs and Roi Wallace finished with 41 assists.
 
North Carolina Central (2-13, 1-1 MEAC) enters the contest coming off a 3-2 loss at rival North Carolina A&T State on Tuesday. The Eagles, who led the match 2-0, before dropping the final three sets, fell to 0-10 this season away from home, including 0-7 in true road contests.
 
Christine Alcox led the Eagles with 12 kills, while Yomaries Villegas finished with 21 digs. Celene Morris, who earned MEAC Setter of the Week honors this week, recorded a double-double with 33 assists and 14 digs.
 
SERIES RECORD: Morgan State holds a 2-0 advantage over North Carolina Central. The Lady Bears and NCCU last met in 2009 with Morgan State sweeping the Eagles in the Winthrop Tournament (9/11/09). The two teams first met in 2007 with Morgan State claiming a 3-0 victory in Baltimore (11/3/07). The Eagles are one of two MEAC teams to never defeat Morgan State. South Carolina State, which is 0-22 against the Lady Bears, is the other.
 
NEXT UP: Morgan State will close out its four-match homestand with another MEAC cross divisional matchup on Sunday, Oct. 6, when it entertains MEAC Southern Division foe, North Carolina A&T State in a MEAC contest at 1 p.m. 
 
MCBRIDE EARNS THIRD MEAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Zoe McBride was named MEAC Player of the Week on Monday. It was her third MEAC weekly this season. McBride averaged 5.2 kills and 2.0 digs per set, while hitting .291 in two matches. The Ridgefield, Wash. native totaled 52 kills, 20 digs, six service aces and four blocks for the week. McBride had a match-high 27 kills to go with a .299 hitting percentage, nine digs and a career-high four service aces, as Morgan State overcame a 2-0 deficit to defeat Maryland Eastern Shore in the MEAC opener.
  
HUBBARD REACHES 1,000 DIGS PLATEAU: Senior Jasmin Hubbard picked up four digs in the loss to Delaware State (9/29) to give her exactly 1,000 digs for her career. The Reno, Nevada native entered the 2019 campaign with 974 career digs and is currently tied for fifth all-time at Morgan State with Dina Beamon (1,000 kills from 2008-10).
 
WALLACE BECOMES THIRD TO 3,000 ASSISTS: Roi Wallace became the third Lady Bear in school history to reach 3,000 career assists, when the Lady Bears defeated Binghamton (3-2) in the finale of the Hoya Invitational (9/21). Wallace, who finished the match with 55 assists, reached the 3,000-plateau when her 46th assist of the match resulted in a kill by Tylar Roberson to bring the Lady Bears within a point at (21-20) in the fourth set. Wallace entered the season third on the Morgan State charts with a total of 2,536 career assists. She has currently totaled 562 assists this season to give her 3,098. 
 
BOZIER RECORDS WIN NO. 460: Morgan State head coach Ramona Riley-Bozier, who entered the 2019 season six wins shy of career victory No. 460, secured the sixth victory of the season when the Lady Bears defeated Binghamton (9/21) in the finale of the Hoya Invitational. Riley-Bozier, who is the all-time winningest coach at Morgan State in any sport with 460 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. Riley-Bozier began 2019 ranked 33rd in career wins among active coaches on the NCAA's Division I coaching list.
 
AMONG THE LEAGUE'S BEST: Roi Wallace leads the MEAC in assists with 9.53 per set, while Zoe McBride leads the conference in kills at 4.61 per set and Tylar Roberson ranks fourth in kills (3.19 per set). McBride also ranks seventh in hitting percentage (.240) and Sophie Pajevic is seventh in service aces (0.36 per set) and Jennevy Santos is third in digs (4.05). As a team the Lady Bears lead the MEAC in digs (14.69), while ranking second in hitting percentage (.189), third in assists (10.98) and kills (11.97).
 
TAKE FIVE: The Lady Bears have played in three consecutive five-set matches and six totale this season. Morgan State, which is 4-2 in five-set contests this season, had won two straight five-set contests prior to the loss to Delaware State (9/29).
 
BEST START EVER: The Morgan State volleyball team's 5-1 mark was its best start in school history through the first six matches, after going 2-1 in the Knights Fall Classic (Sept. 6-7). Twice the program has began a season with a 4-2 record (1982, 94). 
 
SAYING GOODBYE: Morgan State will say goodbye to its seniors, Jasmin Hubbard and Roi Wallace prior to its regular season finale 'Senior Day' match against Norfolk State on Nov. 3 at Hill Field House.
 
2019 MEAC CHAMPIONSHIP: This year's 2019 MEAC volleyball championship will take place November 22-24 in Washington, D.C. at Howard University's Burr Gymnasium.