MSU Notes

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Aug. 25, 2022)--The Morgan State volleyball team kicks off the 2022 campaign on the road this weekend when it travels to Charlotte, N.C. for the Charlotte Invitational (Aug. 26-27). The Xiomara Ortiz era will get underway on Friday, Aug. 26, when the first-year head coach leads the Lady Bears against host Charlotte in the opener at 10 a.m. The match will be live on CUSA-TV. Morgan State will conclude the day when it takes on Campbell at 7 p.m. The Lady Bears will be back in action on Saturday with a single match at 5 p.m. against Wofford to close out the tournament. Live stats will be available here for all matches.
 
MSU AGAINST THE FIELD: This will be the fourth meeting between Morgan State and host Charlotte with the 49ers holding a 3-0 advantage. Campbell also leads the all-time series against Morgan State, 3-0. This will be the first meeting between the Lady Bears and Wofford.
 
NEXT UP: The Lady Bears will stay close to home next weekend when they travel to nearby Towson, Md. for the Towson Invitational (Sept. 2-4). Morgan State will face Princeton at 10 a.m. in its opener on Friday, before facing Radford at 7 p.m. On Saturday, MSU will battle Rutgers at 1 p.m., before closing out the tournament on Sunday against host Towson at 1 p.m.
 
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.
 
OPENING SERVE: Morgan State is 9-20 in season openers since the 1993 season, after falling at home last season in three sets to Cleveland State (8/27). The Lady Bears' last opening day victory was a 3-2 win at home against Seton Hall in the opener of the Morgan/Towson Invitational (8/30/19).
 
FOLLOW THE LADY BEARS ON TWITTER: Morgan volleyball fans can follow the Lady Bears on Twitter. Check out regular updates on the team which will feature live tweets from games and on road trips. To follow the Morgan State Athletics Twitter page visit Twitter.com/MorganStBears.
 
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.
 
LAST WHISTLE: Morgan State concluded the 2022 season with a 3-0 loss to Delaware State (11/19) in the opening round of the MEAC Championship in Washington, D.C. Makila Billingsley and Madison Grace each had six kills to lead the Lady Bears, while Mackenzie Jefferson recorded a team highs in assists (20) and digs (12).
  
SOMEONE NEW: Morgan State will square off against two first-time opponents this season. The Lady Bears will face Wofford (8/27) in the finale of the Charlotte Invitational and will visit Akron (9/10) in the finale of the Cleveland State/Akron Tournament.
 
POSTSEASON EXPERIENCE: Morgan will face just two opponents this season (Towson and Howard), who reached the 2021 NCAA Volleyball Tournament. The Lady Bears will face the crosstown rival Towson Tigers on Sept. 4 at 1 p.m. in the finale of the Towson Invitational in Towson, Md. Morgan will square off against its MEAC rival, Howard twice this season on each other's home floor. The two will first meet on Oct. 7 in Washington, D.C. and will conclude their regular season series on Oct. 28 in Baltimore for Morgan's Dig Pink match.
 
LOOKING TO STAY UNBEATEN: Morgan State will look to add to its perfect record and remain unbeaten against fellow MEAC member South Carolina State. The Lady Bears enter this season with a 25-0 all-time record against the Lady Bulldogs. Morgan State and SC State will first meet on Sunday, Sept. 25 in Baltimore, before facing each other again on Sunday, Oct. 23 in Orangeburg, S.C.
 
TOURNAMENT EXPOSURE: The Lady Bears will take part in four regular season tournaments this year. Following the Charlotte Invitational (Aug. 26-27), Morgan State will make the short trip to Towson, Md. to compete in the Towson Invitational (Sept. 2-4) against Princeton, Radford, Rutgers and Towson. Next will be a trip to Ohio for the Cleveland State/Akron Tournament (Sept. 9-10). Morgan State will take on Valparaiso in the opener on Friday at 11 a.m. at the University of Akron and will meet co-host Cleveland State that evening at 6 p.m. the Lady Bears will travel back to Akron on Saturday to face the host Zips at 12 p.m. Morgan State will close out its non-conference slate in Fairfax, Va. for the George Mason Invitational (Sept. 16-17). MSU will meet fellow MEAC foe Maryland Eastern Shore on Friday at 4:30 p.m. The contest will not count toward the MEAC standings. The Lady Bears will close out the weekend with an 11 a.m. contest on Saturday against New Hampshire, before taking on host George Mason at 6 p.m. in the finale.
 
EIGHT NAMED TO MEAC ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM: Morgan State had eight players named to the MEAC Volleyball All-Academic Team during the 2020-21 school year. Six of the eight recognized (Melanie Battle, Londyn Coles, Gabriela Hiciano, Tyasia McDuffie, Jourdan Page and Alyssa Sampson) return for the 2022 season.
 
MORGAN EARNS THIRD STRAIGHT USMC/AVCA ACADEMIC AWARD: The Morgan volleyball program was honored as a recipient of the United States Marine Corps and the American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award for the 2021-22 academic year. The Lady Bears had a team GPA of 3.35. It marked the third consecutive year, as well as the third time in program history that Morgan State has earned the award. Last season Morgan posted a GPA of 3.62 and totaled a 3.48 GPA when it first earned the award for the 2019-20 academic year.
 
WELCOME TO THE CAVE: Morgan State welcomes the addition of two newcomers to the 2022 squad, one freshmen, Jaydn Perkins (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and one junior transfer in Mikah McIntosh (Miami, Fla.).
 
SAYING GOODBYE: Morgan State will say goodbye to its lone senior, Melanie Battle prior to its home finale 'Senior Night' match against rival Coppin State (11/11). The match will also be the Lady Bears' regular season finale.
 
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.