Morgan State University Athletics

DURHAM, N.C. (Oct. 2, 2026)--When the Morgan State and North Carolina Central volleyball teams meet, expect to be entertained and witness an exciting five-set match. Once again, the two programs didn't disappoint.
 
Featured as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Game of the Week on the MEAC Network, the Bears and Eagles would again go five sets on Friday afternoon, as the host Eagles held on for a 3-2 (25-19, 22-25, 20-25, 25-19, 11-15) victory at McDougald-McLendon Arena.
 
Morgan State fell to 2-13, 1-2 in the MEAC, while NCCU improved to 4-10, 2-1 MEAC.
 
It was the fourth consecutive match and the seventh time out of the last 10 meetings that the Bears and the Eagles have gone five sets.
 
Sophomore setter Isabelle Brown finished with 32 assists to give her exactly 1,000 for her career, thus becoming the 11th player in Morgan State history to reach that feat.
 
"Reaching 1,000 assists today, just shows how far I've come since last year with my development. I couldn't have done it without my teammates," said Brown. "It means a lot to me because with reaching this, it shows how much more space there is to grow and what more we all can do to get accolades ourselves."
 
Brown would fall shy of a double-double, adding nine digs to go with four kills and a block.
 
Senior Mikaela Panekova led the Bears with 15 kills and a match-high 13 digs to collect her second straight double-double and third of the season.
 
Panekova's last kill of the match, brought Morgan within a point at 12-11 in the 5th set and also gave Brown her 1,000th career assist.
 
However, NCCU would score the next three points to cap off the victory and win what was another thrilling match between the two programs.
 
Seniors Jada Williams recorded 12 digs, eight kills, an assist and a block, while Tyrah Weems hit .429 with eight kills and a block. Sophomore Chloe Scott put together a career evening, hitting .500 with six kills, six digs, an ace and two solo blocks – all career highs.
 
For the second week in a row, Aubrey Wilson recorded a career-high four solo blocks. The junior middle blocker finished with five kills and a match-high six blocks to help Morgan State hold a 9.0-3.0 blocking advantage over NCCU.
 
As a team, Morgan State hit .246 with 51 kills. The Bears reached double digits in kills, three times, including a set-best 14 kills in Set 2. Morgan had a set-high .467 hitting percentage in the fifth frame.
 
The Eagles tallied 63 kills but committed 33 attack errors for a hitting percentage of .175. NCCU recorded double-digit kills in all five sets, including a set-best 14 kills in Set 3. The Eagles closed out the match hitting a set-high .367 with 13 kills in the fifth set.
 
Both teams would commit 12 service errors.
 
Emmen Talia paced the Eagles with a match-high 24 kills, a match-high three service aces and seven digs, while Shalyn Bell totaled a double-double with 21 kills and 13 digs. Breylan Fairley posted a match-high 56 assists.
 
The Bears will now head to Orangeburg, S.C. to take on the Lady Bulldogs of South Carolina State on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 1 pm at Dukes Gymnasium. The match will air live on the MEAC Network.
 
Morgan State has won three straight and holds a 32-1 all-time series lead over South Carolina State. The Bears had won the first 29 meetings before S.C. State spoiled Morgan State's Homecoming during the 2024 season with a 3-1 victory (10/6/26).
 
The Lady Bulldogs (4-14, 0-3 MEAC) are in the midst of a three-match losing skid after dropping a 3-0 decision at home to defending champion Coppin State on Friday night.
 
 
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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.