Morgan Volleyball Set To Open Season At Home With Morgan/Towson Invitational - Morgan State University Athletics (2024)

Volleyball 8/30/2024 3:52:00 AM Kevin C. Paige, MSU Athletics Communications

BALTIMORE, Md. (Aug. 29, 2024)--The Morgan State volleyball team will open the 2024 season this week at home, as it co-hosts the Morgan/Towson Invitational (Friday, Aug. 30-Sunday, Sept. 1).

Morgan State will welcome Lehigh on Friday at 6 p.m., before taking on Duquesne at 1 p.m. and Saint Francis-Pa. at 6 p.m. on Saturday. All three matches will be played at Hill Field House. The Bears will conclude the tournament on Sunday on the road, when they visit co-host Towson in the finale at 1 p.m.

This week's tournament marks the second straight year that Morgan State will host a tournament. In 2021 it hosted the Baltimore Invite and in 2019 Morgan also hosted the Morgan/Towson Invitational with the entire tournament taking place at Hill Field House.

NEXT UP:The Bears will be on the road next weekend when they travel to Carrollton, Ga. to compete in the West Georgia Tournament (Sept. 6-7), hosted by West Georgia. Morgan State will take on Georgia State in the opener on Friday and will follow with a match against host West Georgia. The Bears will close out the tournament on Saturday with a contest against UNC Asheville.

OPENING SERVE:Morgan State enters the 2024 campaign 9-22 in season openers since the 1993 season. The Bears' last opening day victory was a 3-2 win at home against Seton Hall in the opener of the Morgan/Towson Invitational (8/30/19).

FOLLOW THE BEARS ON TWITTER:Morgan volleyball fans can follow the Bears on Twitter. Check out regular updates on the team which will feature live tweets from games and on road trips. To follow the Morgan State Athletics Twitter page visit Twitter.com/MorganStBears.

MORGAN PICKED SEVENTH IN MEAC:Morgan State was picked to finish seventh this season in the eight-team Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) preseason poll, as voted by the league's head coaches and sports information directors. Last season the Bears were also picked to finish seventh.

BEARS EARN 2023-24 AVCA TEAM ACADEMIC AWARD: The Morgan State volleyball team was honored in July as a recipient of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award sponsored by INTENT for the 2023-24 season. It marked the fourth time in program history and the first since the 2021-22 season the Bears have earned this award. Morgan State posted a team GPA of 3.477 for the 2023-24 academic year.

MORGAN TO HOLD 2ND ANNUAL EDUCATION DAY: Morgan State will hold its second annual Education Day on Tuesday, September 10, when it welcomes Bowie State to Hill Field House for an 11 a.m. match. Morgan State and Bowie State met last season in the inaugural Education Day match, a 3-0 sweep for the Bears. Last season's meeting ended a 32-year hiatus between the two Maryland HBCUs. A total of 430 local youth ranging from third to fifth grade were in attendance for the match. It was just the third meeting all-time between the two teams, with the previous two contests coming during the 1991 season, both wins by Morgan.

WILLIAMS NAMED TO ALL-MEAC ROOKIE TEAM: Sophom*ore Jada Williams was named to the MEAC All-Rookie Team last season. It was the first All-MEAC volleyball honor for Morgan State since teammate Madison Grace was named to the 2021 MEAC All-Rookie Team. Williams also became the first All-MEAC selection under head coach Xiomara Ortiz. A native of Fredericksburg, Va., Williams finished the regular season leading the Bears in blocks with 93, which ranked second in the MEAC. Her total also tied for seventh on the Morgan State single season charts and ranks 19^th all-time at Morgan. Williams, averaged 1.07 kills and 1.04 blocks per set, concluded the regular season with 95 kills, 43 digs, 18 service aces, eight assists and twice recorded a match-high seven blocks against Manhattan and Maryland Eastern Shore.

LOOKING TO STAY UNBEATEN:Morgan State will look to add to its perfect record and remain unbeaten against non-conference foe Bowie State and fellow MEAC member South Carolina State. Last season the Bears met Division II Bowie State for the first time since the 1991 campaign and improved to 3-0 against the Bulldogs. The two will meet again this season for Education Day on Sept. 10. The Bears also enter this season with a 29-0 all-time record against the Lady Bulldogs of South Carolina State. Morgan State and S.C. State will first meet on Sunday, Oct. 6 in Baltimore, Md., before facing each other again on Sunday, Nov. 3 in Orangeburg, S.C.

TOURNAMENT EXPOSURE:The Bears will again take part in four regular season tournaments this year. Following the Morgan/Towson Invitational (Aug. 30-Sept. 1) against Lehigh, Duquesne, Saint Francis-Pa. and Towson, the Bears will head to Carrollton, Ga., to face Georgia State, host West Georgia and UNC Asheville for the West Georgia Tournament (Sept. 6-7). Next will be a trip to Philadelphia, Pa. for the Penn Invitational (Sept. 13-14) against Le Moyne, Manhattan and host Penn. Morgan will conclude its tournament action with a trip to Fairfax, Va. to compete in the Patriot Invite (Sept. 19-21) hosted by George Mason. The Bears will take on host George Mason in the opener and will face Gardner-Webb and Fairleigh Dickinson.

SEVEN NAMED TO MEAC ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM:Morgan State had seven players (Erin Carpenter, Trinity Carruthers, Gabriela Hiciano, Justyus Jackson, Jourdan Page, Alyssa Sampson and Ellis Spencer) named to the MEAC Volleyball All-Academic Team during the 2023-24 school year. Three of the seven recognized, Erin Carpenter, Trinity Carruthers and Ellis Spencer return for the 2024 season.

WELCOME TO THE CAVE:Morgan State welcomes the addition of nine newcomers to the 2024 squad, four transfers:Hannah Chappelle (Cedar Hill, Texas), Addison Metts (Hobart, Ind.), Daniela Ferreira (Lisbon, Portugal) and Mikaela Esparza (Chandler, Ariz.), along with five freshmen in Aubrey Wilson (Fayetteville, Ga.), Selah Brashear (Severn, Md.), Paula Sigurani (Woodbridge, Va.), Jordan Williams (Birmingham, Ala.) and Piper Newton (Leawood, Kan.)

2024 MEAC CHAMPIONSHIP:This year's MEAC Volleyball Championship will take place November 21-24 in Dover, Del. at Memorial Hall on the campus of Delaware State University.

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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified

institution offering nearly 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's

, and the only university to have its entire campus

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

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