PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (Sept. 14, 2024)--The Morgan State volleyball team was back in action on Saturday afternoon for Day 2 of the Sonesta Philadelphia Rittenhouse Square Penn Invitational at historic The Palestra, as they would face Manhattan.
 
The Bears and the Japers were meeting for the second time in program history, with the first meeting coming a year ago in the finale of the Columbia Tournament, which Morgan State would win in four sets, 3-1.
 
This time the two would need five sets to determine a winner with the Bears once again coming out on top, following a 3-2 (24-26, 23-25, 25-22, 25-21, 17-15) come-from-behind victory over the Jaspers to improve to 2-0 all-time against Manhattan.
 
The five-set thriller was the Bears' second straight and third overall this season, as well as their first five-set win this season.
 
Morgan State (2-8), which recorded a season-high 65 kills, while hitting .306, was led by Addison Metts, who recorded a double-double with a team-high 16 kills and 12 digs. Metts would lead four Bears in double figures kills, as Daniela Ferreira finished with 14 kills, Jada Williams had 11 and Ainara Fernandes added 10. Mya Karrick also had a double-double for the Bears, as she tallied 25 assists and had 15 digs, both team highs for Morgan. Trinity Carruthers finished with 21 assists.
 
The Bears would out block Manhattan, 14.0-10.0 for the match, marking the eighth time this season in 10 matches that Morgan State had out blocked its opponent. Jada Williams led the way setting a career-high with eight blocks, including a solo. Madison Grace, who finished with nine kills, added six blocks, including a solo.
 
Morgan State, which overcame a 2-0 deficit, would have its hands full all match containing the Jaspers' Maike Bertens, who collected a match-high 29 kills and had 14 digs. Mikalah Curran added 16 kills and Laila Glover finished with 13. Lizzy Kovach recorded 13 digs and Sarah Emmons tallied a match-high 47 assists.
 
In the first set, the Bears trailed 21-18, before putting together a string of four straight points in the midst of a 6-1 run to take a 24-22 lead. However, Morgan State was unable to close out. The Jaspers would respond with four consecutive kills to win the opening set, 26-24.
 
Manhattan's Maike Bertens would record nine kills in the set and hit .500, while Lizzy Kovach added five kills and hit .714 in the set. The Jaspers would total 20 kills and had an attack percentage of .400. Sarah Emmons tallied all 17 of the Jaspers' assists in the set.
 
Set 2 the Jaspers scored the first three points and held an 8-4 advantage before the Bears responded with a 7-0 run with the help of five Manhattan errors to take an 11-8 lead. Manhattan regrouped and countered with a 6-1 run to take a 14-12 lead and upped it to 16-14, following an assisted block by Elenoa Sing and Bertens to give the Jaspers a 16-14 lead and force a Morgan timeout.
 
The Jaspers used a 5-1 spurt to take a 24-21 lead. Morgan State pulled within 24-23 after back-to-back kills from Ferreira and Metts. But the Jaspers' Bertens would end any chance of a Morgan State comeback with a kill to give Manhattan a 25-23 victory, as well as a 2-0 set lead.
 
Morgan State would not go away, as it fought in the third set and earned a 25-22 victory. The Bears scored four straight points to go up 21-18 after an ace by Mya Karrick. Manhattan got within 22-21 on a kill from Bertens, but the Bears closed out scoring three of the final four points for the win.
 
The Bears were in control in the fourth set taking a 13-8 lead on an error on the Jaspers. Manhattan used an 11-3 run to even the score at 19 all. Morgan State broke the tie by scoring the next two points in the midst of a 5-1 run to take a 24-20 lead. Manhattan ended the run with a kill, but Morgan shut the door with a kill from Ferreira to give the Bears the 25-21 victory and force a fifth and decisive set.
 
In the fifth set, the Jaspers jumped out to an 8-2 lead when the two teams switched sides. Morgan State got three points back, but the Jaspers responded with two straight points to take a 10-5 lead. The Bears would slowly chip away and used a 4-1 run to even the score at 14 apiece. A kill by Bertens gave Manhattan a 15-14 lead, but the Bears would score the last three points, capped off by back-to-back assisted blocks by Williams and Grace to complete the comeback and win the set 17-15.
 
Morgan State concludes the tournament with a 5 p.m. match against host Penn (4-2) on ESPN +. It will be the first meeting between the two programs.
 
 
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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.