Morgan State University Athletics

BALTIMORE, Md. (Sept. 11, 2026)--On Friday night the Morgan State Bears suffered a three-set home loss (25-22, 25-19, 25-18) to the Georgetown Hoyas in the opener of the Battle of the Beltway. This was the second consecutive season the two programs have met at Hill Field House in this tournament matchup.
 
The Bears (1-6) and the Hoyas (5-2) would jostle for control for most of the first set with the deficit never eclipsing three points for both teams. An Isabella Brown service ace would break the ninth tie of the opening set, giving the Bears a 20-19 lead. However, the Hoyas would roar back, claiming five of the next six points, before winning the set 25-22.
 
In Set 2, the Hoyas took an early 5-2 advantage, but the Bears would settle in, tying the contest at 8-8, before Michaela Panekova's seventh kill of the match gave the Bears a 9-8 advantage. Georgetown would have a response of their own, rallying to tie the set 13-13. The remainder of the set saw both teams once again struggling to pull away from one another with there being 17 ties and eight lead changes after the second set. Following an Aubrey Wilson kill, which tied the match at 17 all, Georgetown would go on a run capturing the next four points extending the lead to 21-17 before earning the 25-19 victory.
 
The third set saw Georgetown seize early control with kills from Kamryn Lee-Caracci, her sixth of the match and Dionna Mitchell's match-leading 11th. Morgan though would show tremendous fight as it did the whole evening, closing a 13-7 deficit to just two points at 14-12. Unfortunately, that would be the closest the Bears would get in Set 3 with the Hoyas eventually pulling away and taking the final set 25-18. 
 
Mitchell led both teams with 12 kills and had 13 digs to earn a double-double to go with a pair of blocks on the evening. Juleigh Urbina had a match-high 35 assists and Taylor Mercado recorded a match-high 15 digs for the Hoyas  
 
For Morgan State, the duo of Jada Williams and Panekova had an impressive outing with each recording 11 kills on the night. Brown, who was coming off being named MEAC Setter of the Week on Monday, tallied 25 assists, a match-high two aces and tied Williams with nine digs to lead the Bears.
 
The Lady Bears will have quick turnaround as they're back in Hill Field House on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 12 p.m. to host George Mason for Day 2 of the Battle of the Beltway. The Patriots (5-2) overcame a 2-0 set deficit to win the remaining three sets to secure a 3-2 come-from-behind victory at UMBC on Friday evening.   
 
 
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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.