Morgan State University Athletics

BALTIMORE, Md. (Nov. 8, 2026)--The Morgan State Bears secured a resounding home win Sunday afternoon on Senior Day at Hill Field House, following a 3-1 (25-21, 25-20, 21-25, 25-21), victory over the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES).
 
The win helped Morgan State sweep the season series over the Hawks and extend the Bears' winning streak to three straight to remain in a two-way tie with Howard for second in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) standings.
 
Morgan State (10-15, 9-4 MEAC) would use the Senior Day crowd to capture early momentum and win the opening set. Morgan won the first two points of Set 1 and never relinquished the lead. Senior Jada Williams led the way for the Bears in the opening frame with five kills. Leading 8-4, the crowd erupted after Hanna Nemeth's third kill of the set coming off an Isabelle Brown assist, secured her 1,000th career kill. On the next play Nemeth recorded a service ace to put the hosts ahead, 9-4. Nemeth would end Set 1 with four kills and an ace. For The Hawks, right side hitter Rayah Howell and middle blocker Dynasty Andrews were leading contributors with four points each. Howell recorded four kills and a pair of digs in the set, while Andrews pitched in two kills with an ace and a block. Morgan would win the set 25-21.
 
The Bears continued their dominant play in Set 2, jumping out to an early 8-2 lead. Williams would secure the first two points of the set for the Bears as Morgan went on to hold control of the set for another wire-to-wire victory at 25-20. The senior duo of Williams and Nemeth both added five kills to their totals on the match. Williams would also add a couple of blocks in the set. 
 
The third set would be the most productive for the Hawks as they started to click both offensively and defensively. Both teams would struggle to pull away as seven lead changes took place however, the Hawks would separate. With the score tied 9-9, Maryland Eastern Shore would win 10 of the next 11 points, breaking open a comfortable 18-9 lead in the set before closing it out with a 25-21 victory.
 
Set 4 was extremely contested from start to finish as the Hawks tried to force a fifth set. Similarly to the third set, the frame would be filled with ties and lead changes as both teams looked to take control. 11 ties in the set to be exact. After a crucial attack error from Kate-Linh Eden, a kill from right side hitter Zayda Thomas would give Morgan its first lead larger than one in the set. Maryland Eastern Shore would show some fight but ultimately wouldn't have enough to overtake the Bears in the set. A kill from Nemeth assisted by Isabelle Brown ended the match giving Morgan the 25-21 victory and its second straight Senior Day victory.
 
Nemeth led the way with a match-high 17 kills, while Williams added 14 kills, five digs, two service aces and three solo blocks. Fellow seniors Panekova recorded 13 digs, six kills and two service aces and Weems finished with five kills, as the senior quartet accounted for 42 of Morgan State's 60 kills for the match.
 
Brown finished with a season- and match-high 44 assists, while hitting .714 with five kills and had two digs. Zayda Thomas hit for a match-high .750 and finished with seven kills, while Bailey Swinton set a season high with 14 digs in the win.
 
For UMES, Howell led the way picking up 10 Kills and a Block. Dynasty Andrews recorded 4 Kills, 2 aces and a game high 4 blocks. Junior Jayda Hutchins has 7 Kills, 5 Digs, a Block and an Ace.
 
The Morgan State Bears will play their regular season finale at home on Friday, Nov. 13th at 6 pm against crosstown rival and defending MEAC champion Coppin State. The match will air live on the MEAC Network and will be Faculty & Staff Appreciation Night.
 
Morgan's four seniors will play in their final home contest of their collegiate careers, while the Bears will get another shot at defeating the top-seeded Eagles, who already wrapped up the MEAC regular season title. Earlier this season Morgan State went into PEC Arena and closed out the first half of the league schedule by handing Coppin State its lone MEAC loss of the season, following a 3-2 win.
 
Coppin State (21-8, 12-1 MEAC) is on a four-match winning streak, including Sunday's sweep of Delaware State for the Eagles' Senior Day.
 
 
FOLLOW MORGAN STATE ATHLETICS IN CYBERSPACE 
There are many ways to keep up with MSU athletics online and on the go:
• Visit www.morganstatebears.com, the official web site of Bears athletics, for news, schedules, stats, bios and more. 
• Follow us on social media:
Facebook: /MorganStateBears
Twitter: @MorganStBears
Instagram: /MorganStateBears
 
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.