WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 28, 2025)--Morgan State's Daniela Ferreira recorded a career-high 23 kills and Isabelle Brown tallied 43 assists, but it wasn't enough, as the Bears would fall to Howard, 3-2 (25-23, 25-28, 23-25, 19-25, 12-15) in an entertaining Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) match on Sunday afternoon at Burr Gymnasium.
 
Howard (7-5, 1-1 MEAC) ended a two-match losing skid with the victory, while extending its winning streak to 12 straight over Morgan State, which fell to 4-8 overall, 1-1 in the MEAC.
 
Fresh off its MEAC season opening win on Friday against Norfolk State, the Bears entered the contest looking for their first 2-0 MEAC start since the 2021 Spring season due to Covid. Ironically, both of those wins would come against Howard.
 
Morgan State surged to a 2-0 lead and appeared to be well on its way to ending its winless drought against the Bison. But unfortunately, Howard had other plans, and the Bears were unable to hold off the Bison's charge.
 
The Bears began to create some distance in the opening set, using a 9-3 spurt to turn a 9-8 deficit into a 17-12 lead, following an ace by Jada Williams. The run would end on a service error, but the Bears would rattle off six straight points to take a 23-13 lead. Howard countered with five straight points to pull within 24-19, before a service error on Howard gave the guests the 25-19 victory.
 
Set 2 saw both teams using multiple runs throughout the frame. Trailing 6-4, Morgan State scored six straight points to take a 10-6 lead. The two would trade a point, before Howard countered with its own 6-0 run to take a 13-11 advantage. The Bears scored the next four to go up 15-13 and back-to-back kills by Howard evened the set at 15 apiece. A combined block by Ferreira and Williams triggered another 6-0 run by the guests, as Morgan State took a 21-15 lead. A kill by Rya McKinnon would be the last point for Howard, as on the ensuing serve, Ferreira earned a kill to give the Bears the 25-18 victory and a 2-0 lead.
 
The two teams would go back-and-forth in the third set. Back-to-back kills by Zenai Jethroe put the Bison ahead 20-19. Both teams would trade mini 2-0 runs, as Howard maintained a one-point lead at 22-21. Morgan would score the next two points to earn a 23-22 advantage but would not score another point in the set. Howard closed out the set scoring the final three points for a 25-23 victory to cut the Morgan deficit to 2-1.
 
The fourth set again saw both teams use runs to try to gain control. After Howard used a 5-0 run to take a 9-4 lead, Morgan later responded with a 6-0 spurt to take an 11-10 lead. The hosts scored the next four points to take a 14-11 advantage and then used a 7-2 run to increase their cushion to seven points at 22-15. The Bears pulled within 22-18, but Howard shut the door, scoring three of the final four points to even the score at 2-2. Howard hit .400 and recorded 20 kills in the set.
 
In Set 5 we would see 10 ties and four lead changes, as neither team would back down. Williams recorded back-to-back kills to give the Bears an 8-7 lead as the teams switched sides. When play resumed, the Bison scored the next three points to surge ahead 10-8. Jenae Mason and Wilson combined on a block to tie the score at 11 all. After Howard's McKinnon and Kaitlynn Robinson combined on a block, Howard would have an attack error, which tied the score at 12-12. It would be the fourth and final tie of the stanza. The Bison then scored the final three points to earn a 15-12 set victory and complete the comeback to defeat the Bears, 3-2.
 
The Bears hit .273 for the match with 61 kills, while Howard finished with 70 kills and a .255 hitting percentage. Morgan State held a 13-11 advantage in blocks.
 
Williams led Morgan with a match-high seven blocks, giving her 247 for her career. Wilson added five blocks to give her 119 for her career and move her past Dinah Jones (118 from 2012-15) for 17^th on the Morgan State blocks chart. Brown finished with a career-high four blocks.
 
Howard was paced by McKinnon, the three-time reigning MEAC Player of the Year, who finished with a match-high 27 kills, while adding nine digs and three assisted blocks. Alexys James had a triple-double with 29 assists, 14 kills and 10 digs, while Aziah Bukner had a match-high 13 digs and Claire Simpson finished with 11. Leah Reeves totaled 28 assists, and Jethroe tied a match-high seven blocks to go with 12 kills.  
 
Morgan State returns home to host North Carolina Central on Friday, Oct. 3 in a MEAC match at 6 p.m. at Hill Field House.
 
 
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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.