McBride, Wallace Tandum Flourishing

Volleyball 10/28/2019 5:29:00 PM Joshua Sampson, MSU Athletic Communications

McBride, Wallace Tandum Flourishing

Zoe McBride (7) and Roi Wallace (28).

BALTIMORE, Md. (Oct. 28, 2019) --Senior Roi Wallace and sophomore Zoe McBride are proving to be one of the best volleyball duos in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).

McBride and Wallace have both been awarded weekly honors four times this season. Wallace was MEAC Setter of the Week (Sept. 3, 9, 23 and Oct. 21), while McBride received either MEAC Co or Player of the Week honors (Sept. 3, 9, 30 and Oct. 21).

"They're really important to me because it makes me feel like I've made good use of my time," Wallace said. "I've taken the opportunities that I have to come in and play volleyball and made the best of it and make a name for myself at Morgan in the MEAC."

Wallace leads the MEAC in assists with 805 (9.58 per set) and also ranks third in service aces (38), averaging 0.45 aces per set.

A native of San Dimas, Calif., Wallace is currently third in career assists at Morgan State with 3,341. Last season she passed former Lady Bear Ngebui Chafeh (2,374 assists from 2010-13) on the career charts and ranks eighth on the single-season assists chart with the 943 she recorded during her junior campaign.

"I'm not trying to break records, but I know if I'm close it's a goal of mine to beat the goal." Wallace said. "If it happens it happens."

A lot of Wallace's assists these past two seasons have gone to McBride, who is continuing her dominance from her freshman campaign, where she tallied 329 kills and was named to the 2018 MEAC All-Rookie team, becoming the first Morgan player to earn all-rookie accolades since 2006.

"I think me and Roi have a really good relationship," McBride said. "The setter and hitter relationship is really important, especially in the game of volleyball. Just the connection I have and just being able to freely communicate.

"I can just give her a look and she knows like 'yeah, okay, I need to put it higher like this was wrong.' Just her knowing and having that relationship that we're comfortable [to hold] each other accountable for everything that we do," McBride added.

After a dominant freshman campaign, McBride said she's just working on being consistent.

"I'm just being consistent and working on all different things and being comfortable doing the uncomfortable things," McBride said. "I know I'm comfortable hitting line. So I've been working on hitting cross court. Just being comfortable in doing all the things and just being open to what everyone else is talking about and telling me where to go and where to hit."

McBride, who is from Ridgefield, Wash., currently leads the MEAC in total kills with 395 and is averaging 4.70 kills per game, which is also first among league leaders.

Despite being among the top three leaders in assists during her tenure at Morgan State, Wallace has yet been named to an all-conference team.

"I think last year could have been the year I was named for something," Wallace said.

In 2018, Wallace led the team in assists for the third consecutive season (943) and ranked second in the MEAC in assists (10.14 per set) and sixth in service aces (0.38).

"It makes me want to harder to be named this year because it's my last go around," said Wallace. "If I haven't been named for anything any of the other times, I need to work hard and hope I can be on a conference team this year."

The Morgan State Lady Bears will hope to continue their winning streak on Tuesday, October 29, when they entertain crosstown rival Coppin State at 7 p.m. at Hill Field House.

ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified doctoral research institution offering more than 100 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.

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Players Mentioned

#28 Roi Wallace: S; 5' 9"; Junior

#7 Zoe McBride: OH/RS; 6' 0"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#28 Roi Wallace
: 5' 9"; Junior
: S

#7 Zoe McBride
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: OH/RS

Players Mentioned

#28 Roi Wallace

#7 Zoe McBride

Players Mentioned

#28 Roi Wallace

#7 Zoe McBride