Match 20 (MEAC Contest)
Hall of Fame / Alumni Night
Morgan State (6-13, 5-2 MEAC) vs. Norfolk State (7-14, 3-5 MEAC)
Date: Friday, Oct. 23, 2026
Site: Baltimore, Md. (Hill Field House)
Serve: 5 p.m.
Series Record: Morgan State leads, 27-14
TV: MEAC Network
Live Stats: Here
Websites: MorganStateBears.com | nsuspartans.com
 
 
BALTIMORE, Md. (Oct. 14, 2026)--The Morgan State volleyball team, riding a season-long four-match winning streak will look to build on its momentum, when it begins the second half of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) schedule this Friday, Oct. 23 against Norfolk State. The match will also be Morgan State's Hall of Fame/Alumni Night. Former Lady Bear, Nyree Moore (1997-98) will be honored at the match, prior to her Hall of Fame induction later that evening. First serve is at 5 p.m. and will air live on the MEAC Network.
 
Morgan State (6-13, 5-2 MEAC), winners of four consecutive matches for the first time since winning seven straight last season, is coming off a thrilling 3-2 victory on the defending MEAC champions, Coppin State on the road last Friday. The win ended a 14-match losing skid to the Eagles. The Bears, who currently sit in third place in the league standings behind defending champion Coppin State (7-1 MEAC) and Howard (6-1 MEAC).
 
Norfolk State (7-14, 3-5 MEAC) enters the contest having dropped its last two contests, including a 3-1 loss at Coppin State on Sunday to begin the second half of the league schedule. Gabrielle Gilbert finished with a match-high 16 kills and Aliyah Torres collected 13 digs to lead the Spartans. Jasmine Mataira tallied 26 assists. Norfolk State committed 12 service errors, while Coppin State recorded 11 service aces.
 
SERIES AGAINST NORFOLK STATE: Morgan State holds a 27-14 all-time series lead over Norfolk State. The Bears won the first meeting this season, 3-1 in the MEAC opener in Norfolk, Va. (9/25). The win ended a six-match losing skid to the Spartans on their home floor. Prior to the win, Morgan State's last victory in Norfolk, Va. came on Sept. 30, 2018, when the Bears defeated the Spartans, 3-1. It would be the 450^th coaching victory for then MSU head coach Ramona Riley-Bozier.
 
NEXT UP: The Bears will travel to the Nation's Capital to face Howard on Sunday, Oct. 25 at 1 p.m. in Washington, D.C. The match will take place at Burr Gymnasium and will air live on the MEAC Network.
 
LAST SERVE: 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 extended 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, which dropped its second match in a row, also saw its 12-match winning streak over MEAC opponents dating back to last season come to an end. Morgan's victory 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).
 
MSU VOLLEYBALL ON THE MEAC NETWORK: Morgan State volleyball fans will have a new way to follow the Bears this fall season with the MEAC Network. All 14 conference contests are scheduled for the MEAC Network, the conference's rebranded streaming platform with seven of those matches at Hill Field House. Coverage begins Friday, Sept. 25, when the Bears travel to Norfolk, Va. to take on the Norfolk State Spartans in the MEAC opener and runs through the regular-season finale at home against crosstown rival Coppin State on Friday, Nov. 13. The entire MEAC Volleyball Championship, held Nov. 20-22 in Baltimore, Md. at Coppin State, will also stream on the platform. 
 
BROWN, WILLIAMS EARN ALL-MEAC HONORS: Jada Williams was named MEAC Player of the Week, while sophomore Isabelle Brown was named MEAC Setter of the Week (10/19). It was the first weekly honor for Williams, while Brown secured her third weekly honor this season and the fifth overall. Williams and Brown helped to lead Morgan State to an exciting 3-2 come-from-behind reverse sweep road victory over crosstown rival Coppin State (10/16). Williams recorded her third double-double of the season, finishing with 13 kills and a career-high 11 blocks (3 solo), while adding two assists and a service ace in the win. Brown collected 42 assists, a career-high 19 digs, five kills, while hitting .500, five blocks and two service aces in the thrilling victory over Coppin State. It was her sixth double-double of the season.

LET'S GO FIVE: The Morgan State Bears have played in a total of 20 five-set matches over three seasons. Five of those matches have come this season with the Bears going 3-2 in those contests. Morgan State, which dropped its first two five-set matches to Loyola (Md.) and at North Carolina Central, have since won its last three, defeating South Carolina State on the road, Delaware State at home and Coppin State on the road. Last season Morgan State went the distance in five matches, recording a 2-3 mark. The previous season, the Bears played in 10 five-set matches during the 2024 campaign, winning only two of them.
 
STREAKING: The Bears hard fought five-set victory on the road over Coppin State (10/16) to end the first half of the MEAC slate, extended Morgan State's winning streak to a season-best four straight. The win also put an end to a 14-match losing skid to the Eagles.
 
WILLIAMS RECORDS CAREER-HIGH 11 BLOCKS: Senior Jada Williams recorded a career-high 11 blocks in Morgan State's huge 3-2 victory at Coppin State (10/16). Williams totaled three solo blocks and had eight assisted blocks. The 11 blocks surpassed her previous career-high 10 blocks last season at UMES (11/9).
 
THOMAS HAS CAREER NIGHT: Sophomore Zayda Thomas set a career-high 13 kills in Morgan State's victory at Coppin State (10/16). A native of Tampa, Fla, Thomas hit .308 and recorded three blocks and an assist. Her previous career high of nine kills came the previous week in the homecoming victory over Delaware State (10/9).
 
WELCOME BACK HANNA: Senior Hanna Nemeth returned to the court for the Bears just in time for the Homecoming match victory against Delaware State (10/9) and did not disappoint. A native of Szeged, Hungary, Nemeth, who earlier in the week was cleared by the NCAA, recorded a kill for the first point of the match and finished with 10 kills, eight digs and tied a match-high two service aces in her first match of the season.
 
BROWN REACHES 1,000 ASSISTS: Sophomore setter Isabelle Brown recorded exactly 32 assists in the MEAC contest at North Carolina Central (10/2), giving her 1,000 assists for her career. Brown became the 11^th Bear player to reach the mark.
 
LET'S RUN IT BACK: Morgan State and North Carolina Central opened up the MEAC season as the MEAC Game of the Week on the MEAC Network and provided fans with a five-set thriller, won by the home team in Durham, N.C. The two programs will meet again on Friday, Oct. 30 at 6 p.m. in Baltimore, Md. and will again be featured as the MEAC Game of the Week.
 
I GOT FIVE ON IT: When the Morgan State and North Carolina Central volleyball teams meet, be prepared to stay a while and get your money's worth. The Bears and Eagles have gone five sets the last four consecutive matches and seven out of the last 10 meetings. NCCU, which won this season's first meeting in Durham, N.C. (10/2), has won nine of the last 11 meetings to hold a 9-5 all-time series lead.
 
THE STREAK IS OVER: Morgan State began the MEAC season with a 3-1 victory on the road at Norfolk State (9/25). The win ended a season-long eight-match losing skid and also put to rest a seven-match losing streak to Norfolk State on the Spartans home floor. Prior to victory, the Bears' last win on Norfolk State's home floor came on Sept. 30, 2018, when Morgan State won 3-1, to give then head coach Ramona Riley-Bozier her 450^th career coaching victory.
 
WILLIAMS MOVES INTO FOURTH IN BLOCKS AT MORGAN: Senior middle blocker/outside hitter Jada Williams tallied three blocks, including two solo against George Mason (9/12) to give her 314 career blocks, moving her past Tiffany Pickens (312 from 1995-98) for fourth place on the Morgan State career chart. Williams, who currently has 346 blocks, is now 38 blocks shy of passing former Lady Bear, Destiny Sisk (383 blocks from 1999-01) for third place.
 
BROWN NAMED MEAC SETTER OF THE WEEK: Isabelle Brown was named MEAC Setter of the Week (9/7). It was the first weekly honor this season and the third overall for Brown, who also received the honor twice last season as a freshman. A native of Avon, Ind., Brown averaged 6.8 assists and 1.9 digs for the week, while totaling 82 assists, 23 digs, 10 kills and a solo block in three matches. Brown began the week with a match-high 31 assists, five kills, two service aces and a block against Saint Peter's (9/4) to help Morgan earn its first win of the season. A day later Brown followed up with a double-double, collecting 30 assists and 12 digs against Loyola Maryland (9/5), before concluding the week with a match-high 21 assists, six digs, two aces and a kill against Towson (9/6).
 
WILLIAMS REACHES 500 KILLS: Jada Williams recorded 10 kills against rival Towson (9/6) to put her past 500 kills for her career with 502. Williams' eighth kill of the match, brought Morgan within a point at 12-11 in the third set, giving her 500 for her career. The 6-foot-2 middle blocker turn outside hitter, currently has 651 career kills.
 
OPENING SERVE: Morgan State dropped to 10-24 in season openers since the 1993 season, following this year's season opening 3-0 loss to Cleveland State (8/28) in the opener of the Steel Classic hosted by Lehigh.
 
WILLIAMS REACHES 300 BLOCKS: Jada Williams, who entered the season ranked fifth all-time at Morgan State with 291 career blocks, recorded a total of nine kills during the season opening weekend in the Steel Classic (8/28-29). Williams recorded three blocks in the finale against host Lehigh, giving her 300 blocks for her career.
 
MORGAN PICKED FOURTH IN MEAC PRESEASON POLL: Morgan State was picked to finish fourth 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 sixth and ended the season in third place, their highest league finish since the 2019 campaign.
 
WILLIAMS, WARDLAW NAMED AS LEADERS: Senior Jada Williams and sophomore Tameary Wardlaw have been named as this season's leadership council. Williams, who enters her fourth season at Morgan State, was named to the 2025 All-MEAC first team after leading the MEAC in attack percentage (.348) and finishing fifth in blocks with 79. A native of Fredericksburg, Va., she currently ranks fifth all-time on the Morgan charts with 286 career blocks. A native of Miami, Fla., Wardlaw averaged a team-leading 2.08 digs per set, finishing with 193 digs, 46 assists, 10 service aces and three kills last season.
 
TOURNAMENT EXPOSURE: The Bears will take part in three regular season tournaments this year. Following this weekend's Lehigh Steel Classic, the Bears will host the Battle of Beltway (Sept. 11-13). Morgan State will conclude its non-conference slate with a trip to Athens, Ohio to compete in the Bobcat Invitational (Sept. 18-19) hosted by Ohio University.
 
SOMEONE NEW: Morgan State will square off against two first-time opponents this season, when the Bears face host Ohio (9/18) and Mercyhurst (9/18) in the Bobcat Invitational (Sept. 18-19) in Athens, Ohio.
 
WEEMS NAMED SEMIFINALIST ARTHUR ASHE FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Senior Tyrah Weems was a semifinalist for the 2026 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars Female Athlete of the Year. Students named Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars must maintain at least a 3.5 cumulative grade point average, be at least a sophomore academically and participate in community service. Over 900 scholar-athletes were nominated.
  
2026 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.
 
 
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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.