Baltimore, Md. (Oct. 18, 2023)--The Morgan State Volleyball team was back in action on Wednesday evening with a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) match up against Beltway rival Howard University at Hill Field House. The visiting Bison would win, 3-1 (25-20, 25-18, 22-25, 25-20).
 
The contest marked the 84th meeting between the two rivals. The Bison have won six straight and now lead the all-time series, 43-41.
 
Morgan State closed out the first half of the MEAC schedule falling to 6-15, 1-5 in the MEAC, while Howard improved to 9-11 overall, 5-2 in the MEAC.  
 
The Bears were paced by Makila Billingsley who finished with 10 kills, two blocks, and two digs. Justyus Jackson added nine kills and had four blocks, including two solo. Page added six kills and one block, one assist and four digs. Ainara Fernandes finished with six kills, two digs and two service aces, while Trinity Carruthers had 19 assists, seven digs, and two kills.
 
Morgan State held a 10.0-5.0 blocking advantage over the Bison. Jada Williams led Morgan State with a match-high six blocks, including a match-best four solo blocks. 
 
Trailing 2-0 after two sets, Morgan State got back in the match with a 25-22 Set 3 victory. The Bears recorded 12 kills and had five attack errors in the set. However, Howard's five attack errors helped Morgan's cause. Tied 21-21 all, Morgan would score the next three points to take a 24-21 set point lead, which they would not relinquish. After an attack error by Morgan brought Howard within 24-22, Jordan Page slammed the door with a kill to give Morgan the 25-22 set win. 
 
In Set 4, after fighting through trading points, the Bears trailed 16-19 and the Bison extended their lead to 19-23. Bria Woodard would close out the set and match with a kill to give the Bison the win. 
 
Howard was led by Rya McKinnon who recorded a .400 hitting percentage with a match-high 12 kills and five digs. Bria Woodard and Jennifer Bolden each had nine kills. Kayla Diaz finished with a match-high 30 assists and added four kills, three blocks and two service aces. Claire Simpson had12 digs and Amari Patterson finished with 10.
 
Morgan State recorded 37 kills for the match, but hindered their chance with 20 attack errors, leading to a team hitting percentage of .162. Despite finishing with seven service aces, the Bears also had nine service errors. 
 
Howard finished the night with 50 kills and had 20 attack errors for a .256 attack percentage. The Bison finished with 13 service aces but had 14 serving errors. Patterson led the way with a match-best five aces.  
 
Morgan will be back on the floor on Friday, Oct. 20, when they host Maryland Eastern Shore. First serve is at 6 p.m. in Hill Field House.  
 
 
FOLLOW MORGAN STATE ATHLETICS IN CYBERSPACE 
There are many ways to keep up with MSU athletics online and on the go:
• Visit www.morganstatebears.com, the official web site of Bears athletics, for news, schedules, stats, bios and more. 
• Follow us on social media:
 Facebook: /MorganStateBears
 Twitter: @MorganStBears
 Instagram: /MorganStateBears
 
ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified doctoral research institution offering more than 100 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, 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.