Morgan State University Athletics

BALTIMORE, Md. (Nov.13, 2026)--Morgan State protected the Den from its cross city rival the Coppin State Eagles on Friday, as it won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) regular season finale 3-1 (25-19, 22-25, 25-19, 25-19), on Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night at Hill Field House.

With the victory the Bears (11-15, 10-4 MEAC) completed the season sweep of the reigning MEAC champions, who wrapped up the 2026 regular season crown a week ago, following Morgan State's win at Delaware State. It was Morgan's first season sweep of Coppin State since the 2019 season.
 
The Bears, who were the only MEAC team to hand Coppin State (21-9, 12-2 MEAC) its two league losses, closed out the regular season matching their season-long four-match winning streak and secured the No. 2 seed in next week's MEAC championship tournament, hosted by Coppin State (Nov. 20-22) at the PEC Arena.
 
"We're determined, and right now, I think we have our goals and our standards set high," said Morgan State head coach Xiomara Ortiz on beating Coppin for a second time this season. 
 
In the first set the Bears played into the home crowd as they took an early 4-0 lead, which they never surrendered. Morgan then led 15-9 at the technical timeout. The Bears rode the early momentum all throughout the set as they took the victory 25-19. Senior Michaela Panekova got going early with seven kills in the set. Sophomore Isabelle Brown tallied eight assists while senior Jada Williams and freshman Bailey Swinton each recorded an ace. 
 
The second set featured 14 ties and five lead changes, but Coppin reigned victorious as it won the set 25-22. Senior Hanna Nemeth got in on the action with five kills in the set, but Coppin would hit a set-high .400 with 14 kills to stop the Bears' comeback attempt. 
 
Morgan went down early in the third set, but they would tie it at six. Brown would then deliver back-to-back aces to take the lead. Morgan would also go onto win the set 25-19, recording 11 kills and holding Coppin State to just five kills and a hitting percentage of -.080. Williams would add two blocks to increase her total to five through three sets. 
 
Despite recording just eight kills, the Bears won the fourth set by the same score as they won the other two by 25-19. Coppin State tallied a set-best 15 kills, but would hinder itself, as it committed a team-high eight errors and had five service errors in what turned out to be the final frame of the match. Panekova and Williams both had three kills each.
 
Brown finished with 28 assists of the Bears' 39 assists, nine digs and had a match-high four service aces. Panekova had a team-high 13 kills, followed by Nemeth with 10. Williams tallied eight kills and a match-high seven blocks, including five solo. Sophomore Zayda Thomas chipped in with seven kills.
 
The Bears hit .235 with 44 kills and held a 9.0-6.0 advantage in blocks over Coppin State. Morgan State tallied seven service aces but committed 13 service errors.
 
Coppin State was led by Cherisse Atilano who had a match-high 17 digs and added 11 kills and 17 digs. Kayden Cupid finished with a match-high 14 kills and Eva Rovello had a match-high 35 assists.
 
The Eagles hit a .172 with 45 kills. Coppin State collected six service aces and had 12 service errors.
 
Morgan State will now turn its attention to next week's MEAC Volleyball Championship, in search of its first title since the 2000 season. 
 
"And now it's like a new chapter because of the MEAC Tournament and, you know, anything can happen in the tournament," said Ortiz. "Let's put ourselves in a good position and let's take care of it. I want to take this championship."
 
 
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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.