BALTIMORE, Md. (Aug. 28, 2023)--The Morgan State volleyball team will open its home slate this Thursday, Aug. 31 when it welcomes crosstown rival and co-host Towson to Hill Field House for the opener of the Morgan/Towson Invitational (Aug. 31-Sept. 3). First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.
 
On Friday, Sept. 1, Morgan State will square off against Dartmouth at 6 p.m., before facing FDU at 1 p.m. and Rider at 6 p.m. on Saturday. On Sunday, the Bears will close out the tournament against Temple at 1 p.m.     
 
All of Morgan State's contests will be played at Hill Field House. Following Thursday's contest with Morgan, Towson will return home for the remainder of the tournament to host their matches at SECU Arena.
 
This week's tournament marks the first time that Morgan State will host a tournament since 2021 when it hosted the Baltimore Invite. In 2019 Morgan also hosted the Morgan/Towson Invitational with the entire tournament taking place at Hill Field House.

Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for kids and can be purchased here.
 
MSU AGAINST THE FIELD: Morgan State and Towson will meet for the 37^th time with the Tigers holding a 32-4 all-time series lead…Morgan State and Dartmouth will meet for the first time…Morgan leads the all-time series with FDU, 4-3. The Knights and Bears last met in 2019 with Morgan winning in three sets on the Knights' home floor in the Knights Fall Classic…Rider leads the all-time series 6-0. The Broncs and Morgan State last met during the 7^th annual Maddie Bingaman Tournament (9/12/15), hosted by UMBC…This will be the second meeting between Morgan and Temple. The Owls won the lone meeting against Morgan State, winning in five sets in Philadelphia (1/23/21).

A LOOK AT TOWSON: The Tigers (1-1) enter this weekend's Morgan/Towson Invitational coming off a split at South Carolina (8/25-26). Towson defeated the Gamecocks in the season opener in three sets on Friday, before falling in four sets on Saturday. The Tigers, who are in search of their fifth straight CAA title, will begin this weekend's tournament on the road when it faces Morgan State on Thursday, Aug. 31. It will be their first trip to Hill Field House since squaring off in the 2021 Baltimore Invite (8/27). Towson's remaining four contests in the tournament will be played on their home court at SECU Arena.
 
A LOOK AT DARTMOUTH: The Big Green open the 2023 season on Friday, Sept. 1 when they face Temple at Hill Field House. Dartmouth was picked to finish fourth in the Ivy League. Last season Dartmouth finished fourth, securing a spot in the inaugural four-team 2022 Ivy League Tournament. The Big Green's 16-9 finish a year ago was its winningest season since 2011.

A LOOK AT FDU: The Knights (0-3) opened the season last weekend at the FAU Invitational in Boca Raton, Fla. FDU dropped its opener to Kansas City by a score of 3-1, before falling to Holy Cross and host Florida Atlantic also by 3-1 scores. Last season FDU captured its first NEC Tournament title in program history and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. The Knights were picked to finish third in this season's NEC preseason poll.
 
A LOOK AT RIDER: The Broncs (0-2) began their season in Charlottesville, Va., competing in the Cavalier Classic (8/25-26), hosted by Virginia. Rider would drop both contests in three sets, first falling to the host Cavaliers and then North Carolina A&T. The Broncs were picked to finish sixth in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). Freshman Libero Keegan O'Connor was named to the Cavalier Classic All-Tournament Team. Rider begins tournament action on Friday against FDU at SECU Arena.
 
A LOOK AT TEMPLE: Temple (3-0) enters the weekend undefeated after winning its Hilton Philadelphia at Penn's Landing Cherry & White Challenge (8/25-26). The Owls earned sweeps over Iona, LIU and Lehigh to earn the tournament title. It's the Owls first 3-0 start since 2019. Senior outside hitter Taylor Davenport, who earned tournament MVP honors, also garnered American Athletic Conference (AAC) Offensive Player of the Week accolades on Monday. Davenport became the first Temple player to receive offensive player of the week honors since 2017. Temple will host Delaware State on Tuesday, Aug. 29, before facing Dartmouth in the opener of the Morgan/Towson Invitational (9/1) at Morgan's Hill Field House. The Owls were picked to finish in a tie for third place in the AAC East Division preseason poll.

NEXT UP: The Bears return to the road next weekend when they travel to New York to compete in the Columbia Tournament (Sept. 8-9). Morgan State will face Rutgers in the opener at 2 p.m. on Friday, before concluding the tournament with two contests on Saturday against host Columbia at 11 a.m. and Manhattan at 3 p.m.
 
LAST WHISTLE: Morgan State opened the 2023 season at the Hokie Invitational hosted by Virginia Tech (Aug. 25-26). The Bears concluded the tournament dropping a 3-0 decision to Quinnipiac. Ainara Fernandes had a team-high eight kills, while Makila Billingsley and Gabriela Hiciano added six and five kills, respectively, as Morgan finished with a weekend-best 34 kills. Mya Karrick finished with 24 assists and Erin Carpenter led the way with a team-high 11 digs. Jada Williams totaled a match-high five assisted blocks to help the Bears to a 7.0-3.0 blocking advantage over the Bobcats. 

CARPENTER NAMED TO HOKIE INVITATIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Senior setter Erin Carpenter was named to the Hokie Invitational All-Tournament Team after totaling 30 assists, 20 digs, three kills, three service aces and two blocks in nine sets played. The Atlanta, Ga. native had a weekend-best 17 assists and added seven digs and two assisted blocks to go with a kill against Furman (8/25). In the finale against Quinnipiac, Carpenter totaled a season-high 11 digs, had a season-best two service aces and added two assists.
 
OPENING SERVE: Morgan State fell to 9-22 in season openers since the 1993 season, after falling on the road to Virginia Tech (8/25) last week in three sets. The 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).
 
BLOCK PARTY: Morgan State finished the opening weekend holding a 17.0-9.0 advantage in blocks over its opponents in three matches played. Jada Williams led the way with 10 total blocks, including a match-high five in the finale against Quinnipiac. Morgan State held a 6.0-2.0 blocking advantage in its second match against Furman. In the finale against Quinnipiac, the Bears out blocked the Bobcats 7.0-3.0. It marked the second straight opponent that Morgan State out blocked after tying Virginia Tech with 4.0 blocks each in the opener.

FOLLOW THE LADY BEARS ON TWITTER: Morgan volleyball fans can follow the 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 this season 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 Bears were also picked to finish seventh.
 
BILLINGSLEY, JACKSON NAMED AS LEADERSHIP COUNCIL: Seniors Makila Billingsley and Justyus Jackson have been named as this season's leadership council. A native of Plainfield, N.J., Billingsley recorded a team-leading 2.35 kills and averaged 0.35 digs and 0.38 blocks per set a year ago. She ranked ninth in the MEAC in kills and was named to the MEAC Volleyball All-Academic Team. Jackson ranked 10^th in the MEAC in hitting percentage and blocks last season. The Davenport, Iowa native averaged 1.43 kills and 0.30 digs per set and was named the team's MVP. She ranks 17 all-time at Morgan in blocks with 103 for her career. Jackson was a first-team Morgan State All-Academic selection, was named to the MEAC Commissioner's All-Academic Team and was earned MEAC Volleyball All-Academic Team honors.

IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME: Morgan State will end two 30-year plus hiatuses against two Maryland schools this season. The Bears will face Notre Dame of Maryland on Sept. 13 at Hill Field House. It will be the first meeting between the two teams since prior to the 1990 season (records are unavailable). It will be the eighth meeting between the two programs. Morgan State will also host in-state foe Bowie State on Sept. 19, ending a 32-year hiatus between the two Maryland HBCUs. It will be the third all-time meeting, with both previous contests coming during the 1991 season.
 
SOMEONE NEW: Morgan State will square off against three first-time opponents this season. The Bears will host Dartmouth (9/1) in the Morgan/Towson Invitational and will meet host Columbia (9/9), followed by Manhattan (9/9) in the Columbia Tournament.
 
POSTSEASON EXPERIENCE: Morgan State will face four opponents this season (Delaware State, FDU, Towson and Quinnipiac), who reached the 2022 NCAA Volleyball Tournament. Morgan will take on Quinnipiac in the finale of the Hokie Invitational on Aug. 26. The Bears will face both crosstown rival Towson on Aug. 31 at 6 p.m. and FDU on Sept. 2 at 1 p.m. in the Morgan/Towson Invitational. The Bears and MEAC foe Delaware State will meet twice this season on each other's home floor. The two will first meet on Sept. 24 in Baltimore and again on Oct. 22 in Dover, Del.
 
LOOKING TO STAY UNBEATEN: Morgan State will look to add to its perfect record and remain unbeaten against non-conference foe Bowie State and fellow MEAC member South Carolina State. The Bears, who haven't played against Division II Bowie State since the 1991 campaign, are 2-0 against the Bulldogs. Morgan will close out its non-conference slate when its hosts Bowie State for Education Day on Sept. 19. The Bears also enter this season with a 27-0 all-time record against the Lady Bulldogs of South Carolina State. Morgan State and S.C. State will first meet on Sunday, Oct. 1 in Orangeburg, S.C., before facing each other again on Sunday, Oct. 29 in Baltimore, Md.
 
TOURNAMENT EXPOSURE: The Bears will again take part in four regular season tournaments this year. Following the season opening Hokie Invitational (Aug. 25-26), Morgan State will return home to co-host the Morgan/Towson Invitational (Aug. 31-Sept. 3) against Towson, Dartmouth, FDU, Rider and Temple. Next will be a trip to New York for the Columbia Tournament (Sept. 8-9) against Rutgers, host Columbia and Manhattan. Morgan will conclude its tournament action with another trip to New York when it visits both Ithaca and Syracuse for the Cornell Invitational/Syracuse Tournament (Sept. 15-16). The Bears will take on Cornell in the opener and will close out against Syracuse.                                                                

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.).
 
SAYING GOODBYE: Morgan State will say goodbye to five seniors, Makila Billingsley, Erin Carpenter, Justyus Jackson, Jourdan Page and Alyssa Sampson prior to its home finale 'Senior Day' match against Norfolk State (11/5).

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 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.