BALTIMORE, Md. (Sept. 11, 2025)--The Bears will take part in their third and final preseason tournament this weekend when they play in the Battle of the Beltway (Sept. 12-14). Morgan State will visit George Mason in the opener on Sept. 12 in Fairfax, Va., before returning home to host Georgetown on Saturday, Sept. 13. The Bears will conclude the tournament on Sunday with a trip to the Nation's Capital to face George Washington in the finale in Washington, D.C.
 
Morgan State (3-3) enters this weekend's tournament, coming off a 2-1 mark in the Morgan/Towson Invitational (9/5-6), co-hosted with Towson University. It was first time Morgan State won at least two matches in its own tournament since the 2023 season, when the Bears defeated both Dartmouth and Fairleigh Dickinson.
 
MORGAN AGAINST THE FIELD: Morgan State volleyball is a combined 3-9 against this weekend's opponents (Quinnipiac, Stonehill and Kent State). George Mason: The Bears trail the all-time series, 2-3. Morgan State has dropped its last two matches against the Patriots, including a 3-1 loss last season in the Patriot Invite (9/19/24) in Fairfax, Va….Georgetown: The Hoyas lead the all-time series, 6-0. The two last met in the opener of the Hoya Invitational (9/18/19), a 3-1 win by Georgetown…George Washington: GW has won seven of the eight meetings to hold a 7-1 advantage. Morgan State won the last meeting, 3-0 in Baltimore (1/29/21) to end a seven-match losing skid to the then Colonials. The match was played during the Spring 2021 semester due to the 2020 campaign being cancelled due to Covid-19.
 
NEXT UP: Morgan State will wrap up the 2025 non-conference slate when it travels to Jersey City, N.J. to face Saint Peter's on Friday, Sept. 19 at 6 p.m.
 
LAST WHISTLE: Morgan State concluded the 2025 Morgan/Towson Invitational with a 3-1 loss to Kent State (9/6). It was the Bears' lone loss of the tournament after securing back-to-back 3-1 victories over Quinnipiac and Stonehill on the opening day. Daniela Ferreira recorded 15 kills and Hanna Nemeth added 11. Isabelle Brown recorded a double-double, finishing with 28 assists and a match-high 10 digs. Jada Williams led Morgan State with a match-high five blocks to help the Bears hold a 12.0-7.0 blocking advantage over Kent State. Williams' five blocks moved her into eighth-place all-time at Morgan State in career blocks with 232.
 
WILLIAMS MOVES INTO EIGHTH ON BLOCKS LIST: Junior middle blocker Jada Williams entered the season ranked 10^th all-time at Morgan State with 212 career blocks. Last week during the Morgan/Towson Invitational (Sept. 5-6), Williams totaled 13 blocks in three matches to give her 232 for her career. Her five blocks in the tournament finale against Kent State moved her past both Janelle Wilson (227) and Zuri Smith (228) for eighth-place all-time.
A native of Fredericksburg, Va., Williams recorded a season-best 118 total blocks a year ago and is now two blocks shy of passing Dominique Bozier (233 from 2007-10) for seventh on the career charts.
 
MORGAN STARTS 2-0 AT HOME: The Bears began the 2025 home slate with back-to-back 3-1 victories over Quinnipiac and Stonehill in the Morgan/Towson Invitational (9/5). It's the first time Morgan State started a season 2-0 at home since the 2020 campaign (which was played in Spring of 2021 due to Covid-19), when Morgan won its first three home contests. That season the Bears coming off a tough five-set road loss at Temple in the season opener, returned to Hill Field House and sweep George Washington in the home opener, before knocking off Howard in three sets. Their third win would also come against Howard in five sets.
 
BROWN EARNS MEAC SETTER OF THE WEEK: Morgan State freshman setter Isabelle Brown was named Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Setter of the Week (9/2). A native of Avon, Ind., Brown directed the Bears' offense, collecting 107 assists (9.73 per set), while adding 17 digs, five kills, four service aces, and three blocks in three matches. Brown recorded 31 assists, four digs, and a service ace, while hitting .400 with two kills in her Morgan State debut in the season opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Against host Alabama A&M, she finished with 27 assists, four digs, and picked up her first collegiate block. Brown concluded the weekend collecting a new season-high 49 assists, while adding nine digs, three kills, three service aces, and two blocks, all season-highs in a five-set thriller against Southern.
 
WELCOME HOME COACH PRESTON: Former Lady Bear standout and current University of New Orleans (UNO) head coach, Ashley Preston will return to Hill Field House this Friday when she guides her Privateers against Kent State on the opening day of the Morgan/Towson Invitational. It will be Preston's first time coaching inside Hill Field House since 2016 when she was the head coach at nearby Coppin State. Preston, who is in her fifth year at the helm of UNO, was a four-year starter for Morgan from 2004-07 and led the team in digs all four seasons. She ended her career as the program's all-time leader in digs with 2,066, which also ranks second all-time in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) history. A 2008 graduate of Morgan State, Preston was inducted into the Morgan State Hall of Fame in 2023.
 
WILSON REACHES 100 CAREER DIGS: Sophomore middle hitter Aubrey Wilson recorded her 100^th career block in Saturday's contest against host Alabama A&M (9/6). A native of Fayetteville, Ga., Wilson's second block of the first set, gave her 100 for her career. She would finish the match with three blocks. Wilson, who recorded 96 total blocks last season, currently has 16 and 112 for her career.
 
BROWN NAMED TO BETTY AUSTIN TOURNAMENT TEAM: Isabelle Brown was named to the 2025 Betty Austin Invitational All-Tournament Team (8/30). Brown totaled 107 assists, 17 digs, five kills, four service aces and three blocks in the three matches played. In her Morgan State debut, she recorded 31 assists, four digs, and a service ace, while hitting .400 with two kills in a sweep of Arkansas-Pine Bluff. A native of Avon, Ind., Brown finished the tournament collecting a new season-high 49 assists, while adding nine digs, three kills, three service aces and two blocks, all season-highs.
 
OPENING SERVE: Morgan State improved to 10-23 in season openers since the 1993 season, following last week's season opening 3-0 win against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (8/29). It was the Bears' first opening day victory since 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 SIXTH IN MEAC: Morgan State was picked to finish sixth 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 picked to finish seventh for a third consecutive year.
 
LOOKING TO STAY UNBEATEN: Morgan will look to add to its perfect record and remain unbeaten against Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) opponents, when the Bears take on Arkansas-Pine Bluff, host Alabama A&M and Southern in the Betty Austin Invitational (Aug. 29-30) in Huntsville, Ala. to open the season. In fact, the Bears enter this weekend a perfect 10-0 when facing a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). Morgan State's all-time matches against recent SWAC newcomers Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M were all played when the two programs were still members of the MEAC.
 
FERREIRA, WILLIAMS NAMED AS LEADERS: Senior Daniela Ferreira and junior Jada Williams have been named as this season's leadership council. A native of Lisbon, Portugal, Ferreira enters her second season with the Bears. A year ago, she ranked 7^th in the MEAC in points, 9^th in kills per set and 10^th in hitting percentage and was named to the All-MEAC Tournament Team and the All-MEAC second team. Ferreira would lead Morgan in kills (305) and digs (206) last season and earned the team's MVP award. Williams, who enters her third season at Morgan State, was named to the 2024 All-MEAC first team after leading the MEAC in blocks with 118, while ranking 7^th in hitting percentage (.256). A native of Fredericksburg, Va., she finished her sophomore campaign ranked 98^th in the nation in blocks per set (2.29) and currently ranks 10^th all-time on the Morgan charts with 212 career blocks. Williams would receive the team's most improved award.
 
BLUE IT IS: Morgan State wrapped up its 2025 preseason camp on Friday, Aug. 21 with its annual Orange & Blue Scrimmage at Hill Field House. Team Blue would claim bragging rights with a 3-0 victory.
 
SWEET HOME ALABAMA: Morgan State sophomore opposite hitter/middle blocker Jordan Williams returned to her home state of Alabama last weekend when the Bears traveled to Huntsville for the Betty Austin Invitational. Williams is a native of Birmingham and attended Clay-Chalkville High School.
 
TOURNAMENT EXPOSURE: The Bears will take part in three regular season tournaments this year. Following this weekend's Betty Austin Invitational, the Bears will head home to co-host the Morgan/Towson Invitational (Sept. 5-6) against Quinnipiac, Stonehill and Quinnipiac. Morgan State will then conclude its regular season tournament action with a trip to Fairfax, Va. to compete in its first contest in the Battle of the Beltway (Sept. 12-14). The Bears will return home on Day 2 to host Georgetown, before concluding the weekend on Day 3 on the road at George Washington in Washington, D.C.
 
ESPARZA IN BOTSWANA: Senior Libero Mikaela Esparza represented Morgan State and the MEAC this summer participating in the second annual Ditsala International Cup in Botswana. The premier women's volleyball tournament brought together collegiate student-athletes from the United States with national teams from across Southern Africa. Esparza, who was playing on the HBCU Team, would spend six days in Botswana taking part in clinics, training sessions, community engagement and got to experience safaris and explore Southern Africa. On the court, Esparza and the HBCU team would go undefeated, highlighted by a thrilling gold medal match against Bring It Promotions, whose roster featured players from predominately white institutions.

SOMEONE NEW: Morgan State will square off against just one first-time opponent this season, when the Bears host Stonehill (9/5) in the Morgan/Towson Invitational.
  
WELCOME TO THE CAVE: Morgan State welcomes the addition of nine newcomers to the 2025 squad, three transfers: Jenae Mason (Durham, N.C.), Hanna Nemeth (Budapest, Hungary) and Mele Taumoepeau (Laie, Hawaii) along with five freshmen in Isabelle Brown (Avon, Ind.), Chloe Scott (Webster, N.Y.), Zayda Thomas (Land O Lakes, Fla.), Tameary Wardlaw (Sunrise, Pa.) and Viktoria Zelubouski (Malvern, Pa.).
  
2025 MEAC CHAMPIONSHIP: This year's MEAC Volleyball Championship will take place November 20-23 in Baltimore at the Physical Education Complex on the campus of Coppin State University.
 
BEARS EARN 2024-25 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 2024-25 season. It marked the second consecutive year and the fifth time in program history the Bears have earned this award.
 
FERREIRA NAMED TO MEAC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Daniela Ferreira was named to the All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament Team. Ferreira became the first all-tournament team selection under head coach Xiomara Ortiz and the first Bear player since Zoe McBride and Tylar Roberson were named in 2019. A native of Lisbon, Portugal, Ferreira finished with a career- and match-high 21 digs and tied teammate Madison Grace with a match-high 18 kills to record a double-double in Morgan's thrilling five-set quarterfinal loss to defending champion Coppin State (11/22). It was the fourth double-double of the season for Ferreira, who also tallied a match-high three service aces and had two assisted blocks.
 
WILLIAMS RECEIVES FIRST-TEAM ALL-MEAC HONORS: Jada Williams was named to the 2024 All-MEAC first team last season as a sophomore. Williams led the conference in blocks during the regular season with 113 total and 29 solo blocks. She also ended the regular season tied for 90^th among NCAA Division I players in blocks and has helped the Bears rank 51^st in the nation in blocks as a team with 248.5. She has totaled 207 career blocks, which ranks 10^th all-time at Morgan State. The Fredericksburg, Va. native recorded 165 kills, 37 digs, nine service aces and eight assists in 107 sets played this season. She is averaging 1.54 kills and 1.06 blocks per set and ranked seventh in the MEAC in hitting percentage (.265). Williams set a career high in blocks twice this season, first recording a then career-high eight blocks to go with a season-best 11 kills in a win over Manhattan (9/14) at the Penn Invitational. She then broke that mark with a new career-high nine blocks, including seven solo blocks to go with eight kills in the MEAC opener against Maryland Eastern Shore (9/27) and matched it with another nine blocks at Coppin State (10/18).
 
FERREIRA NAMED TO ALL-MEAC SECOND TEAM: Daniela Ferreira was named to the 2024 All-MEAC second team. In her first season with the Bears, Ferreira finished the regular season ranked eighth in the MEAC in points (346.5) and 10th in kills (287) at 2.63 kills per set. She led the team in kills and kills per set (2.63), ranked second on the team in service aces with 22 and was third in blocks with 63. She also added 185 digs and 20 assists on the season. A native of Lisbon, Portugal, Ferreira reached double figures in kills 20 times, including a season-best 21 kills at North Carolina Central (11/1). She reached double figures in digs six times and had three double-doubles, including a season-high 18 digs to go with 16 kills at Coppin State (10/18). She would earn Penn Invitational All-Tournament Team honors (9/13-14).
 
WILSON EARNS All-MEAC ROOKIE TEAM HONORS: Aubrey Wilson was named to the All-MEAC Rookie Team last season. A native of Fayetteville, Ga., Wilson ranked fourth in the MEAC in blocks finished second on the team in blocks with 91 (0.89 per set). Wilson totaled 105 kills, 33 digs, 10 service aces and seven assists in 102 sets played. The one-time MEAC Rookie of the Week selection (9/17) finished the regular season ranked fourth in the MEAC in blocks (0.89). Wilson matched her season high of seven blocks three times and recorded a season-high 10 kills to go with seven blocks in a win against Gardner-Webb (9/20) in the Patriot Invite.
 
11 NAMED TO MEAC ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM: Morgan State had 11 players (Jada Williams, Mya Karrick, Erin Carpenter, Trinity Carruthers, Hannah Chappelle, Ainara Fernandez, Addison Metts, Daniela Ferreira, Tyrah Weems, Mikaela Esparza and Ellis Spencer) named to the MEAC Volleyball All-Academic Team during the 2023-24 school year.
 
BLOCK PARTY: Last season the Bears out blocked 20 of their 29 opponents. Morgan State would lead the MEAC and finished the 2024 campaign ranked 95th in the nation among NCAA Division I teams in blocks with 260.5. Jada Williams also led the MEAC in blocks with 118.
 
LET'S GO FIVE: Last season Morgan State played in 10 five-set matches, following its 3-2 loss to Coppin State in the quarterfinal round of the MEAC Tournament (11/22). Earlier in the season the Bears played in back-to-back five-set contests during the Penn Invitational (9/13-14). Morgan lost to Le Moyne in five sets 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. 
2024 Five-Set Matches
At West Georgia (9/6), L 2-3
Vs. Le Moyne (9/13), L 2-3
Vs. Manhattan (9/14), W 3-2
Vs. Gardner-Webb (9/20), W 3-2
Maryland Eastern Shore (9/27), L 2-3
Norfolk State (10/13), L 2-3
At Maryland Eastern Shore (10/25), L 2-3
Delaware State (10/27), L 2-3
At North Carolina Central (11/1), L 2-3
Vs. Coppin State (11/22), L 2-3
 
 
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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.