Match 26 (MEAC Contest)
Friday, Nov. 3, 2023
Morgan State (7-18, 2-8 MEAC) at Howard (12-12 ???, 8-3 MEAC)
Washington, D.C. | Burr Gymnasium | 6 p.m.
Live Video | Live Stats
 
BALTIMORE, Md. (Nov. 1, 2023)--The Morgan State volleyball team will look for back-to-back Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) victories for the first time this season, when it travels to the Nation's Capital on Friday, Nov. 3, 2023 to visit Beltway rival Howard in a MEAC match at Burr Gymnasium. First serve is at 6 p.m.
 
BEAR CLAWS: Morgan State (7-18, 2-8 MEAC), ended a season-long five-match losing skid with a sweep of visiting South Carolina State on Sunday. Makila Billingsley hit .357 and recorded a match-high 14 kills to help Morgan to the 3-0 victory. It was the Bears' first win in nearly a month when they defeated the same S.C. State squad in four sets in Orangeburg, S.C. (10/1). Jourdan Page fell a kill short of a double-double, finishing with nine kills and a match-high 12 digs. Tyrah Weems and Ainara Fernandes each added six kills for Morgan, who improved to 29-0 all-time against the Bulldogs. Erin Carpenter tallied 16 assists and Trinity Carruthers had 15.
 
BISON HOOVES: Howard (12-13, 8-3 MEAC) enters the contest having dropped its last two matches, following a 3-0 loss at home to UMBC on Wednesday. Jennifer Bolden led the Bison with a team-high 10 kills, while Claire Simpson tallied a match-high 16 digs. Leah Reeves recorded a double-double with 10 digs and 11 assists. Howard held an 8.0-6.0 blocking advantage over UMBC. Cimone Woodard led the way with a match-high four blocks and Dami Awojobi finished with three blocks. Prior to Wednesday's meeting with UMBC, the Bison saw their five-match winning streak halted after a five-set loss on the road to Maryland Eastern Shore (10/29).  
 
SERIES NOTES: Howard has won six straight over Morgan State and leads the all-time series, 43-41. The Bison won the first meeting this season, 3-1 in Baltimore (10/18).
 
NEXT UP: Morgan State will welcome Norfolk State to Hill Field House on Sunday, Nov. 5 at 1 p.m. for Senior Day. It will be the final home contest of the season, as well as career for seniors Makila Billingsley, Londyn Coles, Gabriela Hiciano, Justyus Jackson, Jourdan Page and Alyssa Sampson.
 
IT WON'T BE US: Morgan State improved to 29-0 all-time against South Carolina State, following its 3-0 victory in Baltimore (10/29). The win completed a season sweep over the Bulldogs and extended S.C. State's MEAC losing skid to 69 straight. The Bears won the first meeting, 3-1 in Orangeburg, S.C. (10/1) to give the hosts their 116^th consecutive overall lost.
 
MOVING ON UP: Several Morgan State seniors continue to move up the school's all-time career charts. Makila Billingsley ranks 20^th in attack attempts with 1,560, while Gabriela Hiciano is tied for 23^rd with 1,035 attempts. Justyus Jackson ranks 15^th in blocks with 160, three shy of moving into 14^th. Billingsley is 18^th in blocks with 117. Alyssa Sampson has recorded 739 digs and is two digs shy from moving into 17^th place.  
 
SAYING GOODBYE: Morgan State will say goodbye to six seniors, Makila Billingsley, Londyn Coles, Gabriela Hiciano, Justyus Jackson, Jourdan Page and Alyssa Sampson prior to its home finale 'Senior Day' match against Norfolk State (11/5).
 
TWICE AS NICE: Morgan State will now face rival Coppin State twice during the second half of the MEAC schedule. The first meeting between the two teams was originally scheduled for Friday, Oct. 13 at Hill Field House. However, that match was postponed due to illness within the Coppin program. That match will now take place on Wednesday, Nov. 8. Two days later the two teams will meet in the regular season finale on Nov. 10 at the Physical Education Complex on the Coppin State campus.
 
MORGAN RETURNS TO THE COURT: The Morgan State volleyball team returned to the court on Sunday, Oct. 15 at Norfolk State, ending an unexpected two-week hiatus, where three of its matches during that time were postponed. It was the team's first contest since defeating South Carolina State (10/1) on the road.
 
WILLIAMS NAMED MEAC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: Freshman middle blocker Jada Williams was named MEAC Rookie of the Week (10/2). The 6-foot-2 native of Fredericksburg, Va., averaged 2.11 kills and 1.00 blocks per set to help Morgan State to a 1-1 finish on the road for the week. Williams led the team with nine blocks, including two solo, and a .444 hitting percentage with 19 kills. She began the week with seven kills, four digs and tallied six blocks in a tough five-set loss at North Carolina Central (9/29). Williams then hit a match-high .579 with a season-best 12 kills, and added three blocks, including two solo in a win over South Carolina State (10/1).
  
GOING THE DISTANCE: Morgan State fell to 1-4 this season in five set matches, following its 3-2 home loss to Maryland Eastern Shore (10/20). All three of Morgan's previous five-set losses came on the road, including at North Carlina Central (9/29), at Maryland Eastern Shore (9/22) and at Columbia (9/9). The Bears' lone win was at home against FDU (Fairleigh Dickinson) during the Morgan/Towson Invitational (9/2).
 
BILLINGSLEY REACHES 100 BLOCKS: Senior Makila Billingsley recorded a match-high six blocks at North Carolina Central (9/29) to put her over the 100-mark for career blocks at Morgan State, giving her 103 blocks during her three-years at Morgan. She added one blocks against South Carolina State (10/29) to give her 117.
 
LOOKING TO STAY UNBEATEN: Morgan State entered the season looking to add to its perfect record and remain unbeaten against non-conference foe Bowie State and fellow MEAC member South Carolina State and the Bears did just that. Morgan, who hadn't played against Division II Bowie State since the 1991 campaign, improved to 3-0 against the Bulldogs, following its 3-0 win to close out its non-conference slate (9/19). The Bears also increased its all-time record against the Lady Bulldogs of South Carolina State to 29-0 with this season's series sweep. Morgan State defeated S.C. State 3-1 in Orangeburg, S.C. (10/1), before sweeping the Lady Bulldogs in Baltimore, Md. (10/29).
 
MSU HOLDS EDUCATION DAY: Nearly 200 students from two area schools attended Morgan State's inaugural Education Day on Tuesday, Sept. 19. The goal was to initiate the positive environment that education brings to the youth's lives and expose them to HBCUs and local campuses in Maryland that are near them. The students took part in a campus tour and were taught the Bear chant and dance. Prior to the match, four students were recognized as outstanding students and served as honorary captains (two for Morgan State and two for Bowie State) and were introduced in the starting lineups.
 
GIMME FIVE: Morgan State concluded the non-conference schedule with a 3-0 sweep of visiting Bowie State (9/19). The win gave the Bears five non-conference victories on the season, the program's most since the 2019 team won six non-conference matches. The 2019 squad would go on to reach the MEAC title match.
 
THE IVY EXPERIENCE: Morgan concluded its season matchups against the Ivy League with a 3-0 loss at Cornell (9/15) in the opener of the Cornell/Syracuse Invitational. The Bears finished with a 1-2 mark against Ivy League opponents, defeating Dartmouth, 3-1 in the Morgan/Towson Invitational (9/1), before losing on the road at Columbia (9/9) in five sets. 
 
BEARS LOOSE IN TIME SQUARE: The MSU volleyball team took some time out on Thursday, Sept. 7 to enjoy the sights, sounds and food of New York. The team's tour began with a ferry ride from Staten Island to Manhattan. From there the team walked to the World Trade Center and the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. The Bears then ventured to Times Square AKA the "Bow Tie" of Midtown, referring to 41st to 47th Street, along Broadway and Seventh Avenue. Those blocks form what looks like a giant bow tie. Morgan State then finished its evening with a team dinner at Carmine's Italian restaurant.
 
TAKE TWO: The Bears earned back-to-back wins over Dartmouth and FDU during the co-hosted Morgan/Towson Invitational. It was the first two-match winning streak for Morgan State since the Spring 2021 season when the Bears earned 3-0 sweeps at home over George Washington (Jan. 29) and Howard (Feb. 12).
 
THAT'S A FIRST: Morgan State picked up its first win of the season, following a 3-2 victory over Dartmouth (9/1) during the Morgan/Towson Invitational. It was also the first meeting between the two programs. The victory was also the Bears first over an Ivy League opponent in 10 tries.
 
11 NAMED TO MEAC ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM: Morgan State had 11 players named to the MEAC Volleyball All-Academic Team during the 2021-22 school year. Seven of the 11 recognized Makila Billingsley, Trinity Carruthers, Londyn Coles, Gabriela Hiciano, Justyus Jackson, Jourdan Page and Alyssa Sampson return for the 2023 season.
 
WELCOME TO THE CAVE: Morgan State welcomes the addition of eight newcomers to the 2023 squad, three transfers: Erin Carpenter (Brookhaven, Ga.); Ainara Fernandes (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) and Ellis Spencer (Mississippi Valley State) and five freshmen, Biko Hollie (Los Angeles, Calif.); Mya Karrick (Shorewood, Minn.); Tiffany Moore (Germantown, Md.); Tyrah Weems (Virginia Beach, Va.) and Jada Williams (Fredericksburg, Va.).
 
2023 MEAC CHAMPIONSHIP: This year's MEAC Volleyball Championship will take place November 17-19 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 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.