ORANGEBURG, S.C. (Sept. 26, 2021)-Madison Grace and Gabriela Hiciano each had a match-high 11 kills and Makila Billingsley hit for a team-high .643 and added 10 kills to lead Morgan State to a 3-0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-17) Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) victory over host South Carolina State on Sunday afternoon at Dukes Gymnasium.
 
Morgan State (3-13, 1-1 MEAC) ended a three-match losing skid with the win and also improved to 24-0 all-time against South Carolina State. The Bulldogs fell to 0-11 on the season.
 
Hiciano finished the match hitting .364, as Morgan State hit .319 as a team. Jadore Hayes had a match-best 15 digs and Trinity Carruthers finished with a season-high 36 assists.
 
South Carolina State was led by Maria J.V. Lourerio, who finished with nine kills. Kayleigh Sullivan had 16 assists and Chelsea Cole collected 10 digs. The Bulldogs totaled 21 kills and had an attack percentage of .079 for the match.
 
The hosts held a 4.5-4.0 blocking advantage over Morgan State. Maya McCord tallied a match-high three assisted blocks to lead SCSU. The Lady Bears were led by Kendal Hoges, who had two assisted blocks and Jasmin Perry, who also had two combined blocks, including one solo.
 
Set 1
Morgan State broke a 6-6 contest with an 8-2 spurt to take a 14-8 advantage after a kill by Perry to force a SCSU timeout. Leading 20-13, Morgan put the set away with a 5-1 run, capped off with a service ace by Hayes for the 25-14 win.  Morgan State hit for a set-best .520, recording 14 kills and just one attack error. The Bulldogs were limited to five kills and an attack percentage of .000.
 
Set 2
S.C. State pulled within four points at 16-12, before Morgan went on a 5-1 run to take a 21-13 lead. The host Bulldogs used the help of back-to-back MSU errors to counter with five straight points in the midst of a 9-2 spurt to close within a point at 23-22. But a service error on the Bulldogs, followed by an attack error gave Morgan State a 25-22 victory and a 2-0 lead heading into the intermission. The Lady Bears would total 13 kills, but eight attack errors gave them a .147 hitting percentage. SCSU finished with nine kills and an attack percentage of .148, both set bests.
 
Set 3
Morgan State closed out the contest with a set-best 16 kills and despite five attack errors, hit for .344 in the closing set. The Lady Bears broke a 10-10 tie by scoring the next three points and led 16-14, before going on a 6-0 run to take control at 22-14. Billingsley shut the door on the set and match with a kill, giving Morgan State the 25-17 victory.
 
Next Up
Morgan State returns to action on Friday, Oct. 1 when it welcomes crosstown rival Coppin State to Hill Field House for a MEAC contest at 6 p.m. The Eagles (7-7, 1-1 MEAC) were dealt a heartbreaking five-set loss on the road to North Carolina Central on Sunday.