DOVER, Del., Nov. 18, 2022 – Defending Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) champion Howard swept Morgan State 3-0 (25-13, 25-20, 25-14) in the quarterfinal round of the 2022 MEAC Volleyball Championship on Friday evening at Delaware State's Memorial Hall Gym.
 
The Bison (20-9) advanced to Saturday's 8:30 p.m. semifinal against the North Carolina Central-Delaware State winner.
 
MEAC Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year Rya McKinnon led the Bison with 14 kills, hitting .324 after coming just two errors in 37 swings. Kayla Diaz, the MEAC Co-Setter of the Year, had 38 assists in quarterbacking a Howard offense that hit .337 for the match, adding eight digs and two service aces.
 
Claire Simpson led Howard's defense with 15 digs.
 
After the opening set was in a 7-7 tie, the Bison rattled off seven straight points to go up 14-7 and take control following a block from Diaz and Second Team All-MEAC honoree Tamar Wells. McKinnon later added a kill to put Howard up 17-9.
 
In all, Howard ended the first set on an 18-6 run after the score was tied 7-all.
 
Jadyn Perkins recorded a kill in the early moments of the second set to put Morgan State up 11-6, but the Bison made a run and turned the set into a back-and-forth affair – even leading 18-17 after Justyus Jackson recorded a kill of her own.
 
But the Bears managed just two more points the rest of the set, while Howard went on an 8-2 run to go up 2-0 in the match following a Morgan State ball-handling error.
 
Howard carried that momentum into the third set, leading early by scores of 6-2 and 9-3 – the latter after a Jennifer Bolden kill. Wells later had back-to-back kills to put the Bison up 12-4, and a Rya McKinnon kill even later on capped an 18-5 start to the set for the Bison.
 
Morgan State scored five of the next eight points to cut the lead to 21-10, but Howard kept the momentum and clinched the sweep on a kill from Ana Williams.
 
Justyus Jackson led the Bears (3-26) with nine kills.
 
 
About the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) is in its 52^nd year of intercollegiate competition with the 2022-23 academic school year. Located in Norfolk, Va., the MEAC is made up of eight outstanding historically black institutions across the Atlantic coastline: Coppin State University, Delaware State University, Howard University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Morgan State University, Norfolk State University, North Carolina Central University and South Carolina 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.