Morgan State University Athletics

BALTIMORE, Md. (Oct. 16, 2026)--Separated by 5.4 miles between both team's home courts, when the Morgan State and Coppin State athletic programs meet, you can likely throw out the records.
 
This time it was the volleyball programs getting into the mix as the visiting Bears overcame a 2-0 deficit to earn a reverse sweep over defending Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) champion Coppin State, following a 3-2 (23-25, 20-25, 25-18, 25-22, 17-15) victory at the Physical Education Complex Arena on Friday evening.
 
Morgan State improved to 6-13 overall and 5-2 in the MEAC, while extending its winning streak to a season-best four straight to close out the first half of the conference schedule. It's the longest winning streak for the Bears since the 2019 season when Morgan State won seven consecutive matches. Coppin State (15-7, 6-1 MEAC) dropped its second match in a row.
 
Morgan State's victory ended Coppin State's 12-match winning streak over MEAC opponents dating back to last season and also ended the Bears' 14-match losing skid to Coppin State. It was Morgan State's first win over the Eagles since a 3-0 victory at Coppin State (11/8/19).
 
"The fight my girls and I had is just wow. I barely have the words," said senior Jada Williams, who earned her first career win over Coppin State in eight meetings. "We know Coppin is very tough and very disciplined, but we knew we could match that. Some people might not realize how much this means to me, in my senior year, at their house, it means everything."
 
"I knew I was not leaving that gym without giving my all, and I knew my girls had the same mindset," added Williams. "We're so hungry and that's what I love about this team."
 
The 14-match winning streak was Coppin's longest in the series' 92 meetings, which the Bears now lead 66-26. Morgan State had won 45 consecutive matches against the Eagles over the span of 20 seasons, which came to an end during the 2010 campaign.
 
Williams finished with 13 kills, seven digs and tallied a career- and match-high 11 combined blocks to help the Bears hold a 17.0-6.0 advantage in blocks. Sophomore Isabelle Brown recorded her sixth double-double with 42 assists and a career- and team-high 19 digs. Brown also hit .500 with five kills, two service aces and a career-high five blocks. Fellow sophomore Zayda Thomas also reached double figures, recording 13 kills and three blocks. Senior Hanna Nemeth finished with 12 kills, six digs and two blocks, while sophomore Tameary Wardlaw totaled 13 digs, four assists and a service ace.


 
"As a team we did a really good job communicating with each other and giving each other confidence to play aggressively," said Thomas. "For myself I felt confident in my swings because I knew my teammates had my back and were giving me really good shots."
 
Trailing 0-2, Morgan State began its comeback in the third set on its serve. Behind the serving of Michaela Panekova, who recorded three aces during a 6-0 run by the Bears, which put the guests ahead for good at 9-5. An ace by Brown matched Morgan's largest lead of the set at seven points (22-15). Morgan State finished the set with six aces with Brown added two and Williams totaling an ace. Coppin had just one ace and committed five service aces. Morgan's victory marked the first set loss at home for Coppin State in MEAC play.
 
In Set 4 the Bears would hit .258 with a set-high 16 kills. Morgan State's defense limited the Eagles to 10 kills and an attack percentage of .107, as the Bears held a 5.0-0.0 advantage in blocks. Morgan held a 6-2 lead when the Eagles responded with a 7-0 spurt to take a 9-6 lead. Trailing 18-16, the Bears used a 6-0 run to lead 22-18 and take control of the set. Coppin would not go away, using a 4-1 run to pull within 23-22, following an attack error by the Bears. But Morgan State would close out the set with a kill by Nemeth and an assisted block by Aubrey Wilson and Thomas for the 25-22 victory to even the match at 2-2.
 
Playing in their fourth five-set match in the last five contests, the Bears were poised and ready for the challenge. Back-to-back kills by Thomas put the Bears ahead, 8-6 and forced Coppin State to take a timeout. But the defending champions would not go away, quickly tying the set at 8-8 to trigger an 8-4 spurt to take a 14-12 lead, capped off by a kill from Ivanna Luna. But the Bears would not give in and took advantage of three straight Coppin attack errors to ho up 15-14. After a kill by Luna evened the score at 15 all, the Bears would win the set and match on a block by Williams and a Coppin error for the 17-15 victory.
 
Morgan State recorded six kills in the fifth frame, but was assisted by nine Coppin State attack errors, coupled by two service errors by the Eagles. The Bears hit .120 in the final set, while Coppin had an .067 attack percentage.
 
Eva Rovello led Coppin State with 45 assists and 16 digs, both match highs to record a double-double. Cherisse Atilano also had a double-double with a match-high 19 kills and 13 digs. Coco Figueroa collected a match-high 25 digs and Luna totaled 12 kills.
 
The Bears will now look to build upon their momentum as they prepare for the second half of the conference slate when it welcomes Norfolk State to Hill Field House on Friday, Oct. 23 for its Hall of Fame/Alumni Night match. First serve is at 5 p.m. and will air live on the MEAC Network.
 
"I think this win is really important for us as we go into the second half because it shows us that we can beat everyone in our conference when we make the right adjustments and keep putting pressure on the other teams," said Thomas. "This game along with the work we continue to put in at practice will give us good momentum as we continue."
                                                                              
 
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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering more than 150 baccalaureate, master's degree, doctorate and certificate programs. 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.