WASHINGTON, D.C. (Oct. 11, 2024)--The Morgan State volleyball team returned to the court on Friday evening, as it traveled to the Nation's Capital to face Beltway rival Howard in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) match at Burr Gymnasium. The visiting Bears would fall to the Bison, 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-22).
 
Howard (11-5, 5-0 MEAC) would finish with 53 kills and a hitting percentage of .321, while recording 51 assists and 57 digs. Morgan State totaled 25 kills, 34 digs and had 23 assists for the match. Both squads would total five service aces.
 
Morgan State (5-14, 1-4 MEAC) held a 9.0-3.0 advantage over Howard in blocks. Aubrey Wilson led the way with a match-high four blocks, while Ainara Fernandes added three blocks, including a match-high two solos. Addison Metts also finished with three blocks.
 
Howard's Rya McKinnon hit for a match-high .500 and recorded a double-double with a match-high 20 kills and had 12 digs, whle Dami Awojobi also had a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs. Claire Simpson collected a match-high 22 digs and Leah Reeves tallied a match-best 46 assists to lead the Bison.
 
Metts led Morgan State in kills (7) and digs (9) and Mya Karrick totaled a team-high 19 assists.
 
Howard, which hit a set-best .472 and tallied a set-high 19 kills, jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the opening set, before Morgan State pulled within 9-7. The hots Bison then scored the next six points to increase their lead to 15-7. Howard held a 21-15 lead when it scored four consecutive points to close out Set 1 with a 25-15 win.
 
In Set 2, Morgan State had built a 13-6 lead and forced Howard to call two timeouts. That seemed to wake the host Bison up, as they came out of the second timeout and responded with five straight points in the midst of an 8-1 run to even the score at 14 all. Morgan State would score the next three points, capped off by a service ace from Ferreira to give the Bears a 17-14 advantage.
 
Howard would again regroup, this time score eight consecutive points to up its lead to 22-17. The 8-0 run by the Bison would come to an end, following a service error on the next possession to bring the visiting Bears within four points at 22-18. Howard would then close out the set scoring three of the final four points of the set for the 25-19 victory.
 
A kill by Cimone Woodard gave the Bison an 18-10 lead in Set 3. Morgan State would battle back to score three straight points in the midst of a 6-1 spurt to bring the Bears within three points at 19-16. Awojobi recorded a kill to give Howard a 24-19 lead. Morgan fought off three straight set and match points to cut the deficit to 24-22 after an assisted block by Daniela Ferreira and Wilson. McKinnon ended the match with a kill to give the Bison the 25-22 set victory and their fifth MEAC sweep in as many matches.
 
Morgan State will return home to host Norfolk State (7-10, 2-3 MEAC) on Sunday, Oct. 13 in a MEAC match at Hill Field House. First serve is slated for 1 p.m. The Spartans are coming off a 3-1 loss at defending MEAC champion Coppin State on Friday. Last season the Bears and Norfolk State split the season series, each winning on their home floors.
 
 
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.