Classic Bear Recap: Volleyball Knocks Off Air Force, 3-1

Lady Bears earn first win over Mountain West Conference opponent.

The medical crisis impacting the nation and the world has caused sports across the globe to come to a standstill for the time being. For example, the Olympics scheduled for the summer of 2020 in Japan has been postponed until 2021.

While we wait on the sports world to get back on track, this is a good time to revisit the illustrious past of Morgan Athletics. Over the next few weeks we will tap into the archives for historic game recaps and stories.

Here's what happened on August 28, 2006:

Volleyball Knocks Off Air Force, 3-1
Kevin Paige, MorganStateBears.com

Boxscore

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. (Aug. 28, 20)-Ivanti Bush recorded her second double-double of the season with 18 kills and 21 digs, both career highs, while Camille Coleman and Esther Johnson each added 13 kills to lead visiting Morgan State to a 3-1 victory (30-27, 30-23, 28-30, 32-30) over the Air Force Academy in a non-conference match at Clune Arena.

The victory marked the Lady Bears' first over a Mountain West Conference opponent in six tries and evened the all-time series with Air Force at one match apiece. It was also Morgan State's earliest non-conference win since a 3-2 defeat of Lafayette in the third match of the season at the 2003 La Salle Tournament.

Morgan State (1-3) and Air Force played competitive volleyball and battled through 17 ties in the opening game. The host Falcons took the largest lead of the game at 23-20 and held a 27-26 advantage before the Lady Bears closed out the match with a 4-0 run, capped off with a service ace by Teneika Fellows to end the game.

The guest Lady Bears stormed off to an 8-1 lead on the serve of Fellows, who recorded her second ace of the match to put Morgan up 5-1. The Falcons closed the gap to 6-9, but Morgan State used an 11-5 run to increase its lead to 20-11. A mini 4-0 run by the hosts brought the deficit within 15-20, but Morgan State responded with a 7-2 spurt capped off by Mandisa Richardson's block, which gave the Lady Bears their largest lead of the game at 27-17. Air Force would get as close as six points (29-23), before the Falcon's Jaclyn Fleming's serve hit the net, giving Morgan State the 30-23 victory and a 2-0 lead in the match.

The third game was one of runs. The Falcons surrendered the first four points to start the third game and trailed 10-3, before using a 5-0 run to tie the game at 16 all. Morgan State responded with runs of 3-0 and 4-0 to take a 23-19 advantage. The Falcons then scored six straight points to take the lead in the midst of a 11-5 run to come-from-behind and steal the game, 30-28.

Game 4 was much like the third, a game of runs. Playing in its second consecutive four-game match, the Lady Bears scored seven straight points after falling behind 3-0. Morgan State held a 13-9 lead, before back-to-back service aces by Katie Batchelder tied the game at 13 all. The guests regrouped and put together a 7-2 spurt to go ahead, 20-15. Air Force would not go away and tied the game at 30 apiece before Morgan held on for the 32-30 win.

Coleman, who missed last season with a knee injury, played big in the middle for the Lady Bears. Her 13 kills were a career high and the Baltimore native added three blocks. Vashaye Ellegood and Richardson also helped out in the middle each finishing with four kills, while recording three and four blocks, respectively. Johnson added 13 digs to give her a double-double, while Ashley Preston led Morgan with a match-high 23 digs. Nicole Williams tallied a match-high 46 assists to set a career-high.

Air Force (0-1) was led by Kristina Stewart's double-double of 14 kills and 17 digs, while Batchelder and Michelle Harrington had 10 kills each.

Morgan State returns to action on Tuesday, Sept. 5, when they host local foe Loyola in its home opener at Hill Field House. First serve is scheduled for at 7 p.m.

Bear Notes:

Morgan State finished the 2006 season with a 22-8 overall mark and 9-1 in the MEAC, good for second-place.
The Lady Bears were a perfect 9-0 at home and finished 7-7 against non-MEAC foes.
Morgan had a season-long 10-match winning streak and advanced to the MEAC championship match.
Junior Ashley Preston led the team in digs with 489, while freshman Ivanti Bush finished the season with a team-leading 430 kills. Junior Jentri Fullove had a team-high 872 assists and senior O'Tasha Williams tallied a team-best 90 blocks.

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Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified doctoral research institution offering more than 126 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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