NORFOLK, Va. (August 20, 2025) -- The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) released its preseason volleyball poll on Wednesday and Morgan State was picked to finish sixth as voted on by the league's head coaches and sports Information directors.
 
Howard received eight of the 16 first-place votes and finished with 116 points to be picked as the MEAC Preseason favorite. 

Three-time reigning MEAC Player of the Year, Rya McKinnon of Howard was selected for a third consecutive season as the MEAC Volleyball Preseason Player of the Year.

All awards were voted on by the conference's head coaches and sports information directors.

Defending MEAC champion Delaware State picked up seven first-place votes and 114 points for second place, while Coppin State (98 points) was third, followed by Norfolk State (73 points), who earned the final first-place vote for fourth place. 

Maryland Eastern Shore ranked fifth with 69 points and Morgan State was sixth with 50 points. North Carolina Central (33 points) and South Carolina State (23 points), were selected to finish seventh and eighth, respectively to round out the predicted order of finish.
 
Last season the Bears were picked to finish seventh and concluded the 2024 campaign with a 6-23 overall mark and finished in seventh with a 2-12 record in MEAC play.
 
Morgan State opens the season on the road in Huntsville, Ala. on Friday, Aug. 29 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the opener of the Betty Austin Invitational (Aug. 29-30), hosted by Alabama A&M.
 
The 2025 MEAC slate gets underway on Friday, Sept. 26 when Morgan State hosts Norfolk State. The Bears' annual homecoming match will be on Sunday, Oct. 12 when they entertain Maryland Eastern Shore at Hill Field House.
 
The MEAC Volleyball Championship will take place on Nov. 20-22 in Baltimore, Md. at Coppin State's Physical Education Complex, where all eight teams will complete for the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship.

The MEAC Strategic Communications office contributed to this release.

 
2025 MEAC Volleyball Preseason Predicted Order of Finish
(first-place votes in parenthesis)
 
School
1. Howard (8), 116 pts.
2. Delaware State (7), 114 pts.
3. Coppin State, 98 pts.
4. Norfolk State (1), 73 pts.
5. Maryland Eastern Shore, 69 pts.
6. Morgan State, 50 pts.
7. North Carolina Central, 33 pts.
8. South Carolina State, 23 pts.
 
2025 MEAC Volleyball Preseason Team
Preseason Player of the Year: Rya McKinnon, Howard
 
Name, Class, Pos., School, Hometown
Coco Figueroa, Jr., L, Coppin State, Bayamon, Puerto Rico
Gabrielle Gilbert, Jr., OH, Norfolk State, Indianapolis, Ind.
Rya McKinnon, Sr., OH, Howard, Hoover, Ala.
Leah Reeves, Sr., S, Howard, Allen, Texas
Claire Simpson, Sr., L, Howard, Plainfield, Ill.
TaKenya Stafford, Sr., OH, Coppin State, Los Angeles, Calif.
Gerren Tomlin, Sr., OH, Delaware State, Statesville, N.C.
 
 
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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.