Match 19 (MEAC Contest)
Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023
Morgan State (5-13, 0-3 MEAC) at South Carolina State (0-16, 0-3 MEAC)
Orangeburg, S.C. | Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Arena | 1 p.m.
 
ORANGEBURG, S.C. (Sept. 30, 2023)--The Morgan State volleyball team will conclude its trip to the Carolina's when it travels to Orangeburg, S.C. to face South Carolina State on Sunday, Oct. 1 at 1 p.m. at Dukes Gymnasium.
 
BEAR CLAWS: Morgan State (5-13, 0-3 MEAC) is coming off a 3-2 loss at North Carolina Central on Friday. The Bears were paced by Makila Billingsley, who had a team-leading 14 kills and Tyrah Weems added 12. Erin Carpenter finished with 25 assists and Trinity Carruthers had 15. Gabriela Hiciano led the Bears with 18 digs and Alyssa Sampson added 13. Ainara Fernandes had a match-high four service aces to go with her nine kills and eight digs. Jada Williams and Billingsley each recorded six assisted blocks to help Morgan State hold a 9.5-8.0 advantage over NCCU in blocks.
 
DAWG BISCUITS: South Carolina State (0-16, 0-3 MEAC) S.C. State is coming off a 3-0 loss at home on Friday to Coppin State. Eleisha Thompson recorded a team-high five kills and had six digs. Trinity Stevenson led the Bulldogs with eight digs and Kaia Barnett finished with nine assists. Maya Rembert led SCSU with three blocks. The Bulldogs, who have won just one set this season, enter Sunday's Morgan State contest riding a 115-match losing skid, including 62 straight MEAC losses. S.C. State's last victory was a 3-0 road win at Savannah State on Sept. 28, 2018. It was also the program's last MEAC win.
 
SERIES NOTES: The Bears lead the all-time series, 27-0.
 
NEXT UP: Morgan State will head home to prepare for its annual Homecoming match, when it welcomes Beltway rival Howard to Hill Field House on Friday, Oct. 6 at 6 p.m.
 
GOING THE DISTANCE: Morgan State fell to 1-3 this season in five set matches, following its 3-2 loss at North Carolina Central (9/29). All three of Morgan's five-set losses have come on the road. 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.
 
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 it 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.

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 sites, 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 41^st to 47^th 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.).
 
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.
 
 
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 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.