Morgan State freshman Rhyan Shy tallied a season- and team-high 11 kills and fellow freshman Kierra Riley added seven kills, while freshman Christa Rogers notched a season-high 33 assists to lead the Lady Bears to a 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 26-24) Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference victory over host Coppin State on Friday evening at the Coppin Center.
The victory was much needed for Morgan State, which improved to 2-18 overall and 1-2 in the MEAC and ended a nine-match losing skid. It also extended the Lady Bears winning streak to 41 straight matches over Coppin State, which fell to 0-15, 0-3 MEAC.
The Lady Bears, who totaled a season-high 42 kills, also finished with a season-best hitting percentage of .260 for the match. Morgan State also had a 3-2 block advantage over the Lady Eagles with Camille Coleman finishing with a match-high three total blocks and Riley adding two blocks.
Statistically, Morgan State played its best volleyball of the season in the opening set, collecting a season-high 16 kills on 27 attempts and three errors for a hitting percentage of .481. However, three service errors along with some breakdowns on defense made it a closer score. The Lady Bears took a 23-15 advantage following a service ace by Dominique Bozier. But host Coppin State would counter with four straight points in the midst of a 6-1 run to pull within 21-24, before Ivanti Bush ended the set with a kill.
The Lady Bears broke an 8-8 tie in the second set with six consecutive points, but the Lady Eagles wouldn’t go away, scoring the next five points to make it a one point (14-13) deficit. Morgan held a 23-16 lead following a kill by Riley and Coleman ended the set with a kill to give the Lady Bears a 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set was back-and -forth with both teams trading leads seven times and 13 ties. The host Lady Eagles led 22-21, however, the guests would score the next three points to hold a 24-22 lead. Coppin State countered with two points, tying the set at 24 all, before Morgan State scored the next two points, including the game winner on a ball handling call on Coppin’s Lauren Lacey.
Brittany Arvin finished with a match-high 12 kills, while Kanishia Sheppard added 10 kills for Coppin State. Tyler Phillips had a match-high 11 digs and Jade Dudley recorded 10 digs. Lacey totaled 28 assists for the Lady Eagles.
Morgan State returns to action on Sunday, Oct. 12, when it plays host to Delaware State in a MEAC match at 3 p.m. at Hill Field House.