WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 18, 2021)-Morgan State entered Thursday evening's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Northern Division match against rival Howard looking to end a season-long two-match losing skid. A match-up against the five-time defending MEAC champion Bison, appeared to be exactly what Morgan State needed to get back in the win column.
 
Morgan State (4-3, 3-2 MEAC) received double-double outings from Tylar Roberson, who finished with a match-high 14 kills and 10 digs, while Jada Bivins added 15 assists and 10 digs to help the Lady Bears to a 3-1 (25-14, 25-22, 15-25, 25-19) victory at Burr Gymnasium.
 
The win was Morgan's fourth straight regular season victory over Howard, dating back to the 2019 season. The Lady Bears will look to complete the sweep of this season's four-match series on Friday.
 
Senior Triniti Smith shared the duties at setter and had a career evening. Smith recorded 14 assists, four service aces and four digs all career highs. Jennevy Santos led the team with 11 digs and added seven assists for Morgan State, which now holds a 41-37 all-time series lead over Howard.
 
The Lady Bears totaled 39 kills, but had 20 errors on 118 attempts for an attack percentage of .161. Morgan State did record 13 service aces in the match. Melanie Battle and Smith led the Lady Bears with a match- and career-high four service aces apiece.
 
Howard (2-9, 1-8 MEAC) was led by Kailyn Williams (12 kills, eight digs) and Marcelle Butler finished with 11 and seven digs. Milexa Cardona finished with a match-high 38 assists and added 10 digs to record a double-double. Cordona also accounted for three of Howard's five service aces.
 
The Bison finished the match with 45 kills and 23 errors on 122 attempts for an attack percentage of .180.
 
Set 1
Morgan State jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead and later used a 4-0 run to increase its lead to 13-5. The Lady Bears closed out the opening set scoring four straight points to trigger a 7-2 spurt to earn the 25-14 victory. Morgan State had an attack percentage of .160 after recording eight kills and committing four errors on 25 attempts. The Bison finished the set with six kills and six errors on 25 attempts for a hitting percentage of .000.
 
Set 2
Morgan State totaled 12 kills in Set 2 and had a .184 hitting percentage. The host Bison hit for .231, recording 16 kills, but had a set-high seven errors. It was the host Bison this time jumping out to a 7-2 lead. Morgan State scored five straight to even the score at 8-8, but the Bison scored the next three points to hold on to the lead. Trailing 19-18, the Lady Bears scored three straight to take their first lead of the set at 21-19. Howard countered with three straight to reclaim the lead at 22-21, capped off with a block by Ana Williams and Jennifer Bolden. Morgan State scored the final four points, including a service ace by Melanie Battle to end the set and give the guests a 25-22 win.
 
Set 3
The Bison again got off to a quick start, leading 6-2 and this time would not relinquish the lead. Morgan State pulled within 6-4, but Howard went on a 7-0 run to extend its lead to 13-4. The Lady Bears got as close as six points (18-12) after a solo block by Roberson. Howard closed out with a 7-3 run to earn the victory and cut the deficit to 2-1. The Bison hit for a match-high .355, finishing with 14 kills and three errors on 31 attempts. The guests were limited to nine kills and had nine errors on 32 attempts for a .000 attack percentage.
 
Set 4
Morgan State led 8-6 and went on a 7-0 spurt to increase its lead to 14-6. Trailing 15-7, Howard put together eight consecutive points to even the set at 15 all. The two traded the next two points, before Morgan State went on another 7-0 run to go up 23-16. The Bison scored the next three points, but Morgan State closed the door with Ross and Kendal Hoges teaming up on a block and Smith ended it with a service ace for the 25-19 victory. The Lady Bears had their best outing in Set 4, finishing with a set-best .348 attack percentage. Morgan State had 10 kills on 23 attempts with two errors. Howard finished the set with nine kills and seven errors on 27 attempts for an attack percentage of .074.

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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering more than 126 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, 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.