Match 29 (MEAC Contest/Season Finale)
Season Finale
Friday, Nov. 10, 2023
Morgan State (8-20, 3-10 MEAC) vs. Coppin State (23-4, 12-1 MEAC)
Baltimore, Md. | Physical Education Complex | 6 p.m.
Live Video | Live Stats
 
BALTIMORE, Md. (Nov. 9, 2023)—Morgan State will close out the regular season on Friday, Nov. 10, when it travels across town to face rival Coppin State in the season finale. The two programs just met two days prior on Wednesday, Nov. 8 with the visiting Eagles defeating Morgan State in three sets to spoil the Bears' home finale.
 
BEAR CLAWS: Morgan State (8-20, 3-10 MEAC), is coming off a 3-0 loss to Coppin on Wednesday in the home finale for the Bears. Senior Makila Billingsley led Morgan State with a match-high 12 kills and had five digs. Fellow seniors Alyssa Sampson totaled eight digs and two assists, Justyus Jackson recorded four kills and Jourdan Page finished with five kills, five digs and an assist. Morgan State also an eight-kills, eight-digs, six-assists performance with two service aces from freshman Mya Karrick. Miko Hollie led the Bears with nine digs and Trinity Carruthers tallied 23 assists.
 
BIRD SEEDS: Coppin State (23-4, 12-1 MEAC) picked up its eighth consecutive victory over its rival, defeating Morgan State in three sets on Wednesday. Paola Caten finished with a match-high 12 kills, while Ashley Roman tallied a match-high 12 digs. Andrea Tsvetanova notched a match-best 25 assists to go with an ace and six digs. Andrea Serrano finished the afternoon with a match-high six service aces, 11 assists and three digs.
 
SERIES NOTES: Morgan State leads the all-time series against Coppin State, 65-20. However, the Eagles have won the last eight matches over Morgan State.
 
NEXT UP: Morgan State will direct its attention to the upcoming MEAC Volleyball Championship Tournament (Nov. 17-19) held at Memorial Hall on the Delaware State University campus.
 
MOVING ON UP: Several Morgan State seniors continue to move up the school's all-time career charts. Makila Billingsley recorded 25 attack attempts in the loss to Coppin State (11/8), giving her 1,621 for her career, which ranks 18th all-time at Morgan State. Gabriela Hiciano is tied for 23rd with 1,035 attempts. Justyus Jackson ranks 15th in blocks with 160, three shy of moving into 14th. Billingsley is 17th in blocks with 119. Alyssa Sampson has recorded 763 digs, which ranks 16th. Sampson is now six digs shy of passing Ivanti Bush (768 digs from 2006-09) for 15th.
 
SAYING GOODBYE: Morgan State said 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 victory over Norfolk State (11/5). They will officially play in their final career home contest at Hill Field House on Wednesday, Nov. 8 when they take on Coppin State.
 
SEE YOU SOON: Morgan State and Coppin State, which will meet for the first time this season on Wednesday, Nov. 8 at Hill Field House, will turn around and face each other again two days later on Friday, Nov. 10, when they meet in the regular season finale at the Physical Education Complex on the Coppin State campus. First serve is at 7 p.m.
 
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 116th consecutive overall lost.
 
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 block at Howard (11/3) to give her 119.
 
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.