BALTIMORE, Md. (Oct. 21, 2023)--For the second time this season the Morgan State and Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) volleyball teams needed all five sets to determine a winner. Unfortunately for Morgan State, the visiting Hawks would overcome a 2-0 set deficit to defeat the Bears 3-2 (26-28, 20-25, 26-24, 25-19, 15-5) in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) match on Friday evening at Hill Field House.
 
It was the third fifth-set contest between the two programs in the last five meetings dating back to last season. The Hawks also won this season's MEAC opener in five sets in Princess Anne, Md. (9/22). Morgan State defeated UMES in five sets in the opener of last season's George Mason Invitational (9/16/22).
 
Morgan State, which dropped its third straight, fell to 6-16, 1-6 MEAC, while UMES improved to 9-11, 5-2 MEAC.
 
The Bears jumped out to a 2-0 lead, following a 25-20 victory in Set 2. Morgan State won the contest recording just five kills and hitting -.048. Morgan capitalized on eight UMES attack errors and five service errors to help its cause.
 
In Set 3, the Bears trailed by three (10-7) and use a 3-0 run, capped off by a kill from Makila Billingsley to even the score at 10 all. Morgan would later hold an 18-15 advantage, but the Hawks came out of a timeout and scored three straight points to tie the set at 18-18. After trading points back-and-forth, Morgan took a 23-22 lead on a kill by Ainara Fernandes. Following a timeout by UMES, the Bears and UMES each committed a service error, giving the hosts a 24-23 lead. That would be the final point for the Bears, as UMES scored the final three points, including a set winning kill from Derionah Abner for the 26-24 victory.
 
Morgan bounced back from a 5-1 deficit and evened the score at 6-6 on an attack error by the Hawks. UMES used an 18-8 run to take its largest lead of the set at 24-14, following a combined block by Ranyla Griggs and Anjola Omolewa. The Bears extended the set and tried to make it interesting, as they went on a 5-0 run with a kill by Jada Williams triggering the run and two kills by Tyrah Weems and two attack errors on the Hawks. But the spurt would come to an end on an attack error on the Bears, as the Hawks evened the match at 2-2 with the 25-19 victory.
 
With momentum clearly on the Hawks' side, UMES jumped out to a 4-0 lead. Morgan pulled within 5-2 on a kill by Weems, but it was all UMES from there. The Hawks, who hit a set-high .462 with seven kills, closed out the match on a 10-3 spurt to complete the comeback win.
 
UMES finished the contest hitting .196 as a team and totaled 57 kills. Nkemjika Ikemefuna recorded a match-best 17 kills, while Abner and Griggs each had 12. Romina Vacca collected 25 assists and Anisa Dorlouis added 18. Valeria Matias finished with a match-high 19 digs.
 
The Bears finished with 36 kills and hit .014 as a team. Billingsley led the team with 11 kills and Weems added 10. Alyssa Sampson recorded 13 digs. Trinity Carruthers collected 16 assists and had eight digs, while Erin Carpenter finished with 10 assists and five digs.
 
Morgan State tallied 10 service aces with Fernandes recording a match-high four aces. UMES had seven aces, but committed a whopping 21 service errors.
 
The Bears also finished the match with a 12.0-10.0 blocking advantage over the Hawks. Williams led the way with a match-high seven blocks, including a match-high four solo blocks. The Hawks' Soleil Cotton had six blocks, including a match-high four solo.
 
Morgan State will travel to Dover, Del. on Sunday, Oct. 22 to take on defending MEAC champion Delaware State. First serve is at 5 p.m. at Memorial Hall.
 
 
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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.