BALTIMORE, Md. (Sept. 2, 2023)--Coming off their four-game victory over Dartmouth last night, the Bears were looking to gain some momentum for themselves. It took a while, but MSU found a way by rallying from a 2-0 deficit to knock off defending Northeast Conference champion Fairleigh Dickinson 3-2 (22-25, 14-25, 25-15, 25-21, 15-13).

The win gives Morgan it's first back-to-back wins since the 2021 Spring season, when the Bears earned 3-0 victories at home over both George Washington (1/29) and Howard (2/12). 
 
The Knights got things going early in the match. FDU (1-5) finished a back-and-forth Set 1 by scoring five of the last six points to win 25-22. Tatijana Fucka led that run with a couple of her match-high 14 kills and a block. Fucka's last two kills closed Set 1 in the Knights' favor.
 
In Set 2, the Knights used a seven-point spurt to break a 10-all deadlock and separate themselves from the Bears. This run was led by Kylie Nott, who recorded two of her 13 kills on the afternoon along with a block. Her last kill gave FDU a 17-10 advantage that they wouldn't let go on the way to a 2-0 match advantage.
 
After FDU scored two of the first three points of Set 3, Morgan State responded in a major way. They found their aggressiveness when Justyus Jackson got involved in the front row. It helped the Bears go on a 15-8 run.
 
The Bears were trying to find the holes early in this game by tipping the ball over. However, FDU kept picking up those tips.
 
Jackson led in the run with three of her seven kills on the night. Her aggressiveness along with the Morgan State blocking gave them a 16-10 lead. A lead they would not relinquish on the way to a crucial win that would help them stay in the match at that point.
 
FDU got off to a big start in Set 4. They took a 7-2 advantage on kills from Nott, Madisyn Beirne and Avery Bain.
 
However, the Bears responded with an 11-6 run. That particular run was led by the emergence of the Bears' block & serve. Solo blocks from Jourdan Page, who led all with five solo blocks and Jackson, who recorded four solo blocks on the afternoon helped. That was most of the Bears' 13 team blocks for the match.
 
MSU head coach Xiomara Ortiz said about those blocks, "Another strength of ours is the blocking presence that we have in Justyus Jackson, Jada & even some of our pins. So looking at how we can be just a big blocking presence has been slowing the game down for our defense and again just creating those prime opportunities for us."
 
Also, Ainara Fernandes stepped up huge with two consecutive aces. Fernandes recorded a match-high six aces for the Bears.
 
"It's a big strength of ours," said Ortiz on the aces. "We practice the pressure serves often. So to have (Ainara) on so far in these last couple days has been really nice. It's been helping us a lot."
 
Makila Billingsley finished the run with one of her team high 11 kills to tie the set at 13.
 
Both teams exchanged runs to tie the game at 19. However, Morgan State forged through by outscoring the Knights 6-2. Fernandes led the run with a kill and ended it with a service ace to tie the match at two.
 
It was nip and tuck for all of game five. After Giorgia Vaschetti tied the contest at 10 on a kill for the Knights, the Bears took the lead for good on a block of Vaschetti by Page. Then she followed that up with a kill to give MSU a 12-10 lead.
 
FDU rallied to bring them within 14-13 on a kill from Sofia Rampazzo. But Page ended it with a kill from the back row to put the Bears in the win column for the second straight match.
 
 
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 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.