Match 26 (MEAC Contest)
Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022
Morgan State (3-22, 2-9 MEAC) vs. Delaware State (18-6, 8-3 MEAC)
Baltimore, Md. | Hill Field House | 5 p.m.
Live Video
 
Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022
Morgan State (3-22, 2-9 MEAC) at Maryland Eastern Shore (7-16, 5-7 MEAC)
Princess Anne, Md. | Hytche Athletic Center | 1 p.m.

BALTIMORE, Md. (Nov. 6, 2022)--The Morgan State volleyball team will finally return to the court after having both of its weekend contests canceled due to health precautions. The Lady Bears will look to close out the final week of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) regular season on a high note, beginning on Tuesday, Nov. 6 when they entertain the Delaware State Hornets at 5 p.m. at Hill Field House. The contest was originally scheduled for last Friday, Nov. 4. Morgan State will then travel to Princess Anne, Md. the very next day to take on the Hawks of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) for their Senior Day on Wednesday, Nov. 9. First serve is at 1 p.m. at the Hytche Athletic Center. The UMES contest was also postponed, as it was originally slated for Sunday, Nov. 6.
 
BEAR CLAWS: Morgan State (3-22, 2-9 MEAC), which last played on Sunday, Oct. 30, is coming off a 3-0 road loss at Norfolk State. Trinity Carruthers recorded a double-double with a match-high 31 assists and added 12 digs in the loss. Makila Billingsley led the Lady Bears with a match-high 11 kills, while hitting a team-best .444. Madison Grace added nine kills and Alyssa Sampson recorded a match-high 13 digs. Justyus Jackson concluded the afternoon with a match-best five blocks, including a solo to move into 17th all-time at Morgan State.
 
HORNET STINGERS: HORNET STINGERS: Delaware State (19-6, 9-3 MEAC), in the midst of a four-match winning streak, held off league leader Coppin State, 3-2 on Sunday afternoon in Dover, Del. The host Hornets held a 2-0 lead, before Coppin State claimed the next two sets to even the score at 2-2. Delaware State would go on and claim victory with a 15-12 Set 5 win to hand Coppin State its second MEAC loss of the season. Alondra Maldonado tallied a match-high 21 kills, while Jasmal Cruz totaled a match-high 29 digs. Malgorzata Andersohn recorded 32 assists, seven digs and five service aces in the win. Alayna Lacy collected a double-double with 15 assists and 11 digs, while Karen Cordero also had a double-double with 11 kills and 13 digs.  
 
SERIES NOTES: Morgan State leads the all-time series, 48-22. Delaware State has won the past seven meetings, including this season's first contest, 3-0 in Dover, Del. (10/14).
 
HAWK TALONS: Maryland Eastern Shore (7-16, 5-7 MEAC) enters Wednesday's contest coming off a 3-0 road loss to Coppin State on Friday. The loss ended a two-match winning streak for the Hawks, who were coming off a successful home sweep of the Carolina schools with 3-0 victories over South Carolina State and North Carolina Central. Derionah Abner led the Hawks with nine kills, while Isil Yilmaz totaled a team-high 11 digs. Nkemjika Ikemefuna added eight kills and 10 digs and Sophia Chacon finished with 18 assists.
 
SERIES NOTES: Morgan State leads the all-time series, 45-27 over Maryland Eastern Shore. The two teams have split the previous two contests this season. The Lady Bears won this season's first meeting, 3-2 in the opener of the George Mason Invitational (Sept. 16) in Fairfax, Va. The win, which was a non-conference contest, was the Lady Bears' first of the season and ended a three-match losing streak to the Hawks. UMES returned the favor in the first MEAC meeting of the season, defeating Morgan State, 3-0 in Baltimore (10/16).
 
NEXT UP: Following Wednesday's matchup against Maryland Eastern Shore, the Lady Bears will close out the regular season at home against crosstown rival Coppin State on Friday, Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. at Hill Field House. The contest will also mark Senior Nigght at Morgan State, as the Lady Bears will honor their lone senior, Melanie Battle prior to the match.
 
JACKSON SURPASSES 100 CAREER DIGS: Justyus Jackson recorded a match-high five blocks, including one solo at Norfolk State (10/30) to give her 102 blocks for her Morgan State career, which ranks 17th all-time at Morgan.
 
NOT SO HOME FEELING: The 2022 campaign has not been kind to Morgan State at home. The Lady Bears are just 1-4 this season at Hill Field House, following a 3-0 loss to Howard (10/28).
 
SAYING GOODBYE: Morgan State will say goodbye to its lone senior, Melanie Battle prior to its home finale 'Senior Night' match against rival crosstown rival Coppin State (11/11). The match will also be the Lady Bears' regular season finale.
 
STILL PERFECT: Morgan State completed a season sweep of MEAC foe South Carolina State, following its 3-1 victory on the road over the Bulldogs (10/23). The win was Morgan State's 27^th straight victory over the Lady Bulldogs in as many meetings, keeping its unbeaten streak alive. S.C. State is the lone MEAC opponent that Morgan State has never lost to in program history.
 
LET'S GO FIVE: Morgan State and North Carolina Central played five sets in the MEAC opener with the visiting Eagles defeating Morgan State 3-2. It was the second five-set contest this season for both teams. NCCU improved to 2-0 in five setters, while the Lady Bears fell to 1-1. Morgan's first five-setter of the season was a 3-2 non-conference win over Maryland Eastern Shore (9/16) at the George Mason Invitational.
 
WON AND COUNTING: First-year Morgan State head coach Xiomara Ortiz picked up her first collegiate coaching victory and first win at Morgan State, following a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Maryland Eastern Shore (9/16) in the opener of the George Mason Invitational. The victory also marked the first win of the season for the Lady Bears, who also ended a 15-match losing skid dating back to last season.
 
ORTIZ TAKES OVER THE HELM: On May, 25, 2022, Xiomara Ortiz was announced as the new head coach of the Morgan State volleyball program. Ortiz, who became the seventh coach in program history, takes over for Ramona Riley-Bozier, who during her 34-year career captured nine MEAC regular season titles, four outright MEAC Tournament titles, guided the Lady Bears to three NCAA Tournament appearances, while becoming the school's all-time winningest coach in any sport with 481 victories. Ortiz comes to Morgan after spending a year as the assistant coach at Shippensburg University during the 2021 season and the previous three seasons as an assistant coach at Lehigh University. A native of South Setauket, N.Y., Ortiz had a stellar four-year career as a libero at Binghamton University, where she set the school records for single-season digs (551) and career digs (1,925) in 116 matches played. As a freshman, she earned America East All-Rookie honors and was named to the All-America East Second Team as a sophomore. She was also a three-time member of the America East Honor Roll.
 
MORGAN PICKED SEVENTH IN MEAC: Morgan State was picked to finish seventh in the eight-team Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) preseason poll, as voted by the league's head coaches and sports information directors. Last season the Lady Bears were picked to finish tied for fourth in the MEAC with Maryland Eastern Shore and ended up seventh.
 
COLEMAN NAMED ASSISTANT COACH: Maegan Coleman will enter her first season as an assistant coach at Morgan State for the 2022 season. Coleman comes to Morgan after spending the 2021 season as the head coach at Cheyney University. Prior to Cheyney, Coleman also had one-year stints at West Alabama and Lamar Community College. While at LCC, the team ranked 13th in the nation for block solos, 32nd in digs and 37th in service aces in 2019. A native of Lancaster, Texas, Coleman began her collegiate career at Tyler Junior College, before concluding her playing career at Prairie View A&M. She helped the Panthers win two Southwestern Athletic Conference Western Division titles. Coleman was awarded the Student-Athlete Academic Award three times, and was the first student-athlete from Prairie View A&M to earn a Nike Internship.
 
2022 MEAC CHAMPIONSHIP: This year's MEAC Volleyball Championship will take place November 18-20 in Dover, Del. at Memorial Hall on the campus of Delaware State University.
 
 
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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering nearly 140 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.