2019 All-MEAC Teams

NORFOLK , Va. (Nov. 19, 2019)-Morgan State sophomore outside hitter Zoe McBride has been named Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Co-Player of the Year, while senior setter Roi Wallace has been named to the All-MEAC second team, as announced by the league office today.
 
McBride shares the honor along with North Carolina A&T State junior setter/right side hitter Edie Brewer. Tamar Wells of Howard was named MEAC Rookie of the Year, while Hal Clifton of North Carolina A&T State was named MEAC Coach of the Year.
 
All awards were voted on by the conference's head coaches and sports information directors.
 
McBride becomes the first Morgan State volleyball player to be named MEAC Player of the Year. It is also the first time that Morgan State has earned one of the MEAC's top volleyball postseason awards since 2006 when Ivanti Bush was named MEAC Rookie of the Year and head coach Ramona Riley-Bozier was named MEAC Coach of the Year.
 
"I'm very proud of Roi and Zoe. Roi has been our starter since her freshman year and has shown growth every season," said Riley-Bozier. "I'm happy the coaches in the conference recognized Roi's growth as being one of the premier setters in the conference. Roi has led the team in assists, serves as one of the leaders on the team and is SAAC President. What a nice senior year and with championships in a few days, we are looking for Roi to continue to lead us for three more MEAC matches." 
 
"Zoe, Morgan State's first volleyball-athlete to receive such an amazing honor.  Zoe is a six-rotation athlete who I believe has shown a lot of maturity on the court," said Riley Bozier. Her personality and how she plays on the court is night and day. She has a laid back personality, but has shown some tenacity on the court. With us losing two scholarship athletes, it put that much more pressure on Zoe to find different ways to score. Again, I'm proud and excited for Zoe, she deserves it." 
 
McBride, who last season was selected to the league's all-rookie team after earning five MEAC Rookie of the Week honors, was named MEAC Player or Co-Player of the Week a league-best seven times this season.
 
A native of Ridgefield, Wash., McBride led the MEAC and sits in 10th in the nation in kills (507) and kills per set (4.88). She ranked second on the team in digs (301), service aces (36) and blocks (43). Her 507 kills are currently tied for second on the Morgan State single-season charts with Esther Johnson in 2005.
 
She finished the regular season recording 16 double-doubles, tied for the most in the MEAC and her 5.41 points per set also rank 10th in the nation. McBride reached double figures in kills in 26 of the 28 matches played and had 10 matches of at least 20 kills, including a career-high 30 kills in the season-opening win over Seton Hall. She later posted a career-high 23 digs in a win over Binghamton.
 
"I'm very honored to receive this. I didn't know it was the first for Morgan State volleyball, but I couldn't have done any of it without my team and the sets from Roi [Wallace]," said McBride. "Everyone is always pushing me to be better and I'm glad the hard work could be recognized. Now I'm ready to go get after it this weekend."
 
This is the first All-MEAC honor for Wallace, who has ranked within the top three in the league in assists since her sophomore year and was fifth as a freshman. Wallace finished the regular season earning a conference-best six MEAC Setter of the Week honors.
 
A native of San Dimas, Calif., Wallace led the MEAC in total assists with a season-best 1,044, assists per set (10.04) and was second in service aces (0.50). She led the Lady Bears in assists for the fourth consecutive season, with her 1,044 assists ranking sixth on the single-season charts. She currently ranks third on the all-time charts with 3,280 career assists, 65 shy of moving into second-place.
 
Wallace, who had four double-doubles on the season, tallied a season-best 58 assists in the season-opener against Seton Hall, falling two shy of her career-high 60 she posted a year ago against Saint Peter's. She also totaled a team-leading 52 service aces on the season, had 185 digs, 29 kills and 15 blocks, including one solo.
 
"I'm really grateful to have been named to a MEAC team, especially with it being my senior year, it's a great way to finish," said Wallace. "It means a lot that my hard work has been acknowledged by the rest of the conference and it makes me even more excited going into the tournament."
 
The Lady Bears (16-12, 10-5 MEAC) enter this Friday's quarterfinal match-up as the No. 2 seed out of the MEAC Northern Division and will face Bethune-Cookman, the third-seed from the MEAC's Southern Division. First serve will be at 8 p.m. at Burr Gymnasium on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C.