BALTIMORE, Md. (Oct. 23, 2009)-The Morgan State volleyball team will play host to Hampton in a crucial Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) North Division match on Friday evening at 7 p.m. at Hill Field House.
Morgan State (6-18, 1-3 MEAC) enters the contest in fifth-place in the MEAC North Division standings, while Hampton (7-14, 2-2 MEAC) sits in a third-place tie with Howard. Only the top four teams will advance to the upcoming conference championship (Nov. 20-22).
The Lady Bears who have lost eight of their past nine contests, are coming off a 3-0 loss at Delaware State on Sunday, while Hampton, which has won two of its last three matches, is coming off a four-set victory at home over Howard on Sunday.
Erin Cox has paced the Lady Bears with a team-leading 241 kills, a team-leading 18 service aces and 104 digs. Ivanti Bush, who is just 34 kills shy of joining the 1,000-kill club, is chipping in with 165 kills and 166 digs. Dina Beamon leads Morgan with 190 digs, while Christa Rogers has tallied 474 assists, 117 digs and 32 blocks. Kierra Riley leads the team with 47 blocks, while Dominique Bozier is adding 46 blocks.
The Lady Pirates have been led by Aaryn Harrison and Brittany Wynne, who have recorded 175 and 167 kills, respectively. Lihi Elkayam has recorded 525 assists and is tied with Wynne for the team lead in service aces with 22. Ivana Suput has tallied 273 digs, while Mianna Armstrong has added 115.
Last season Hampton swept the series to record its first victories over the Lady Bears in the series’ 32 meetings. Aside from the unbeaten streak coming to an end, it was Morgan’s second loss to Hampton, a 2-3 loss at home in the conference finale which hurt the most, as it eliminated Morgan State from reaching the MEAC postseason championship for the first time in school history.