BALTIMORE, Md. (Sept. 15, 2024)--The Bears will close out their regular season tournament play when they travel to Fairfax, Va. to compete in the Patriot Invite (Sept. 19-21), hosted by George Mason. Morgan State will take on the host Patriots in the opener on Thursday, Sept. 19 at 6 p.m. live on ESPN +. On Friday, the Bears will face Gardner-Webb at 4 p.m., before closing out the tournament and their non-conference slate on Saturday against Fairleigh Dickinson at 1 p.m. All matches will be played at the Recreation and Athletic Complex.
 
MORGAN AGAINST THE FIELD: Morgan State and George Mason are tied at 2-2. The Patriots evened the series with a 3-0 victory over the Bears in the finale of the George Mason Invitational (9/17/22)…The Bears hold a 2-0 series lead over Gardner-Webb. The two last met in the Spartan Spiketacular in Greensboro (9/18/10), a five-set win by the Bears…Morgan State is 5-3 against FDU. Last season the Bears defeated the Knights 3-2 in the Morgan/Towson Invitational (9/1/23).
 
NEXT UP: Morgan State will begin Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play on Friday, Sept. 27 when it welcomes Maryland Eastern Shore to Hill FIeld House. First serve is at 6 p.m.
  
LAST SERVE: Morgan State (3-8) wrapped up a successful weekend stay in Philadelphia with two thrilling victories on Saturday to close out the Sonesta Philadelphia Rittenhouse Square Penn Invitational on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania (Sept. 13-14). Down 0-2, the Bears put together a reverse sweep of Manhattan by winning the last three sets to earn a 3-2 victory over the Jaspers. Morgan State then was back on the court nearly 40 minutes later to take on host Penn and swept the Quakers to hand them their only loss of the weekend. With the wins, the Bears finished 2-1 over the weekend, with their lone loss coming in a five-set defeat to Le Moyne on Friday.
 
WILSON NAMED MEAC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: Freshman middle blocker Aubrey Wilson was named MEAC Rookie of the Week (9/16). The Fayetteville, Ga. native totaled 13 kills, 14 blocks, including one solo, four service aces, two digs and an assist to help Morgan to a 2-1 week at the Penn Invitational (9/13-14). Wilson had seven blocks, six kills and three aces in the opener against Le Moyne.  She would end the week with four kills and three blocks in a sweep of Penn.

HOMECOMING: Morgan State freshman Libero Paula Sigurani will return home this weekend when the Bears compete in the Patriot Invite (Sept. 19-21). A native of Woodbrige, Va., Sigurani grew up 17.4 miles away from George Mason's Recreation and Athletic Complex, where this weekend's volleyball matches will be played.

LET'S GO FIVE: Morgan State has played in three five-set matches this season and is 1-2 in those contests. The Bears played in back-to-back five-set contests last weekend in the Penn Invitational. Morgan lost to Le Moyne in five in the opener (9/13), then turned around the next day and earned a reverse sweep of Manhattan (9/14) for its first five-set win of the season. 

• At West Georgia (9/6), L 2-3
• Vs. Le Moyne (9/13), L 2-3
• Vs. Manhattan (9/14), W 3-2 

WELCOME BACK AINARA: Senior Ainara Fernandes returned to the lineup for the first time this season against Le Moyne (9/13) in the opener of the Penn Invitational. Fernandes would finish with four kills, three blocks, two digs, an assist and an ace against the Dolphins. The next day in the Bears' five-set victory over Manhattan, Fernandes recorded 10 kills, four digs, two service aces, an assist and a block.
 
KARRICK, FERREIRA NAMED TO PENN ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM:
Morgan State sophomore Mya Karrick and junior Daniela Ferreira were named to the Penn Invitational All-Tournament Team (9/14). Karrick averaged 4.83 assists and 2.23 digs per set for the week. She would total 57 assists, 29 digs, two kills and five service aces. Karrick tallied a double-double with 25 assists and 15 digs in a come-from-behind reverse sweep victory over Manhattan. She concluded the week with 14 assists, six digs and three aces in a sweep of host Penn. Ferreira hit .339 with a total of 30 kills, 11 digs, nine blocks and two assists. She began the week with 11 kills, seven digs, two blocks and an assist in a five-set loss to Le Moyne. Ferreira recorded 14 kills, while hitting .400 and added four digs and three blocks in a reverse sweep of Manhattan.
 
TRACKING WILLIAMS: Jada Williams recorded five blocks, including one solo against Penn (9/14) to give her 137 career blocks. She is now six shy of matching former Lady Bear Arianna Hayden (143 from 2012-15) for 15^th-place on the career charts.
 
BLOCK PARTY: Morgan State has out blocked nine of its first 11 opponents to start the season. Last weekend during the Penn Invitational (Sept. 13-14), the Bears would out block all three of its opponents: Le Moyne (12.0-6.0), Manhattan (14.0-10.0) and host Penn (8.0-2.0). Morgan State held a 9.0-3.0 blocking advantage over Georgia State and out blocked host West Georgia (11.0-9.0). Morgan would be even with UNC Asheville (3.0-3.0). The Bears began the season out blocking its first three opponents. The Bears held a blocking advantage over Lehigh (9.0-8.0), Duquesne (10.0-6.0) and Saint Francis-Pa. (13.0-3.0), before being out blocked itself, by rival Towson (5.0-11.0) in the finale of the Morgan/Towson Invitational (Aug. 30-Sept. 1).
 
CARRUTHERS REACHES 1,000 ASSISTS CLUB: Senior Trinity Carruthers joined the 1,000 assists club at Morgan State against Le Moyne (10/13) in the Bears' opening match of the Penn Invitational. A native of Grand Prairie, Texas, Carruthers, who finished with 12 assists, reached the 1,000-assists plateau on her 10th assist of the match against the Dolphins. Carruthers currently has 1,041 assists for her career, which ranks 11th all-time. 
 
WILLIAMS NAMED TO WEST GEORGIA TOURNAMENT TEAM: Sophomore middle blocker Jada Williams was named to the University of West Georgia All-Tournament Team. The Fredericksburg, Va. native totaled 20 kills, 13 blocks, a dig and a service ace in three matches in Carrollton, Ga. Williams began the week with a team-high six kills to go with a match-high five assisted blocks and had a dig in the opener against Georgia State (9/6). Later that day she totaled seven kills, matched a career-high seven blocks, including one solo and had a dig in a five-set thriller against host West Georgia. In the tournament finale, Williams recorded seven kills, a service ace and had an assisted block against UNC Asheville (9/7) to give her 119 career blocks to move past former Lady Bear, Dinah Jones (118 from 2012-15) for 16^th-place on the career charts.
 
WELCOME BACK MADISON: Junior Madison Grace made her anticipated return to the Morgan lineup during last week's Morgan/Towson Invitational and totaled seven kills and a dig in the season opener against Lehigh (8/30). It was her first action after missing the entire 2023 season due to an injury. Grace would total 21 kills, a dig, an ace and four blocks including two solo during in four matches over the weekend.
 
OPENING SERVE: Morgan State fell to 9-23 in season openers since the 1993 season, following last week's season opening loss at home to Lehigh (8/30). 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).
 
FOLLOW THE BEARS ON TWTTER: 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.
  
BEARS EARN 2023-24 AVCA TEAM ACADEMIC AWARD: The Morgan State volleyball team was honored in July as a recipient of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award sponsored by INTENT for the 2023-24 season. It marked the fourth time in program history and the first since the 2021-22 season the Bears have earned this award. Morgan State posted a team GPA of 3.477 for the 2023-24 academic year.
   
MORGAN TO HOLD 2ND ANNUAL EDUCATION DAY: Morgan State will hold its second annual Education Day on Tuesday, September 10, when it welcomes Bowie State to Hill Field House for an 11 a.m. match. Morgan State and Bowie State met last season in the inaugural Education Day match, a 3-0 sweep for the Bears. Last season's meeting ended a 32-year hiatus between the two Maryland HBCUs. A total of 430 local youth ranging from third to fifth grade were in attendance for the match. It was just the third meeting all-time between the two teams, with the previous two contests coming during the 1991 season, both wins by Morgan.
 
WILLIAMS NAMED TO ALL-MEAC ROOKIE TEAM: Sophomore Jada Williams was named to the MEAC All-Rookie Team last season. It was the first All-MEAC volleyball honor for Morgan State since teammate Madison Grace was named to the 2021 MEAC All-Rookie Team. Williams also became the first All-MEAC selection under head coach Xiomara Ortiz. A native of Fredericksburg, Va., Williams finished the regular season leading the Bears in blocks with 93, which ranked second in the MEAC. Her total also tied for seventh on the Morgan State single season charts and ranks 19thall-time at Morgan. Williams, averaged 1.07 kills and 1.04 blocks per set, concluded the regular season with 95 kills, 43 digs, 18 service aces, eight assists and twice recorded a match-high seven blocks against Manhattan and Maryland Eastern Shore.
 
SOMEONE NEW: Morgan State will square off against four first-time opponents this season. The Bears will take on Georgia State and host West Georgia on Day 1 of the West Georgia Tournament (9/16) and will meet both Le Moyne (9/13) and host Penn (9/14) in the Penn Invitational.
 
LOOKING TO STAY UNBEATEN: Morgan State will look to add to its perfect record and remain unbeaten against non-conference foes Bowie State, Gardner-Webb, Manhattan and fellow MEAC member South Carolina State. Last season the Bears met Division II Bowie State for the first time since the 1991 campaign and improved to 3-0 against the Bulldogs. The two will meet again this season for Education Day on Sept. 10…Morgan State holds a 2-0 advantage over Gardner-Webb. The two last met in the Spartan Spiketacular in Greensboro, N.C. (9/18/10), a five-set win by the Bears…The two will met in the Patriot Invite hosted by George Mason (9/20/)…The Bears and Manhattan met last season for the first time in the Columbia Tournament (9/9/23), which Morgan would win in four sets. Morgan State and the Jaspers will meet in this year's Penn Invitational (9/14)…The Bears also enter this season with a 29-0 all-time record against the Lady Bulldogs of South Carolina State. Morgan State and S.C. State will first meet on Sunday, Oct. 6 in Baltimore, Md., before facing each other again on Sunday, Nov. 3 in Orangeburg, S.C.
 
TOURNAMENT EXPOSURE: The Bears will again take part in four regular season tournaments this year. Following the Morgan/Towson Invitational (Aug. 30-Sept. 1) against Lehigh, Duquesne, Saint Francis-Pa. and Towson, the Bears will head to Carrollton, Ga., to face Georgia State, host West Georgia and UNC Asheville for the West Georgia Tournament (Sept. 6-7). Next will be a trip to Philadelphia, Pa. for the Penn Invitational (Sept. 13-14) against Le Moyne, Manhattan and host Penn. Morgan will conclude its tournament action with a trip to Fairfax, Va. to compete in the Patriot Invite (Sept. 19-21) hosted by George Mason. The Bears will take on host George Mason in the opener and will face Gardner-Webb and Fairleigh Dickinson.                                                         
 
SEVEN NAMED TO MEAC ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM: Morgan State had seven players (Erin Carpenter, Trinity Carruthers, Gabriela Hiciano, Justyus Jackson, Jourdan Page, Alyssa Sampsonand Ellis Spencer) named to the MEAC Volleyball All-Academic Team during the 2023-24 school year. Three of the seven recognized, Erin Carpenter, Trinity Carruthers and Ellis Spencer return for the 2024 season.
 
WELCOME TO THE CAVE: Morgan State welcomes the addition of nine newcomers to the 2024 squad, four transfers: Hannah Chappelle(Cedar Hill, Texas), Addison Metts (Hobart, Ind.), Daniela Ferreira (Lisbon, Portugal) and Mikaela Esparza (Chandler, Ariz.), along with five freshmen in Aubrey Wilson (Fayetteville, Ga.), Selah Brashear(Severn, Md.), Paula Sigurani (Woodbridge, Va.), Jordan Williams (Birmingham, Ala.) and Piper Newton (Leawood, Kan.)
 
2024 MEAC CHAMPIONSHIP: This year's MEAC Volleyball Championship will take place November 21-24 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.