Katie Butz had a match-high 11 kills and MacKenzie Knox and Lauren Whyte each added eight kills to lead host George Washington (GW) to a 3-0 (25-12, 25-9, 25-17) non-conference sweep of Morgan State on Wednesday night at the new Charles E. Smith Center.
George Washington (15-6) also received a match-high 15 digs from Candace Silva-Martin and Whyte added 10, while Alyssa Valentine finished with 33 assists for the Colonials, who improved to 4-0 all-time against Morgan State.
The Lady Bears (5-17), who with the loss concluded their 2009 non-conference slate, fell to 5-15 in non-conference play. Morgan State, which finished with 20 kills, was led by Erin Cox's six kills, while Dominique Bozier and Macie Wyly finished with four kills apiece. Jourdan Lemons tallied nine assists and Christa Rogers added eight, while Rhyan Shy totaled a team-high nine digs for Morgan State, which suffered its seventh straight loss and has been swept for the 15th time this season.
George Washington jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the opening set and extended its cushion to 18-5, after a service ace by Valentine, before winning, 25-12. Morgan State, which hit .011 for the match with 20 kills on 91 attempts, recorded just four kills in the first set and had a hitting percentage of -.160.
The second set would be all GW, as the Colonials finished with 14 kills and a set high of .414. The hosts used an 11-1 run to take a 23-6 lead, en route to a 25-9 victory.
Morgan State hung with the Colonials in the third and final set, until the hosts broke a 7-7 tie by going on a 9-2 spurt to take a 16-9 lead. The Lady Bears countered with a mini 5-2 run to pull within 18-14, capped off with Ashley Johnson and Bozier teaming together for a block. GW then scored five of the next six points to extend its lead to 23-15.
The Colonials tallied 40 kills for the match on 84 attempts with just 12 errors for a hitting percentage of .333. Morgan State held a 4-3 blocking advantage over the Colonials with Bozier and Shaundalyn Taylor recording two blocks apiece.
The Lady Bears return to action on Friday, Oct. 16, when they play host to crosstown rival Coppin State in a MEAC match at 7 p.m. at Hill Field House. The contest will be Morgan's Dig Pink match for breast cancer awareness.