Box Score

BALTIMORE, Md. – Coming off a big win over rival Hampton, the Norfolk State volleyball team was unable to keep the momentum going during a 3-0 loss to Morgan State Sunday afternoon at Hill Field House.

Morgan State used a potent offense to keep NSU at bay, as the Bears hit .380 for the match, compared to a respectable .159 attack percentage for the Spartans. Morgan State won, 25-19, 25-18, 25-20, to run their record to 4-3 in the MEAC, 5-17 overall. NSU fell to 3-4 in conference play, 7-12 overall.

Junior Beatriz Ferreira led all players with 13 kills, while freshman Adriana Ramos added 10 kills. Junior Megan Lavo handed out 31 assists, and senior Tracey Copley also posted a match high with 11 digs.

Ashley Johnson led the Bears with 11 kills, while five other players had at least five kills in a very balanced attack for Morgan State. Natalie Chafeh was one of those players with five kills and 28 assists, and Kierra Outlin had seven kills, a team-high seven digs and three blocks.

As a team, the Bears led in both digs (28-23) and blocks (5-4). The two teams also combined for 19 service errors.

NSU had the lead at one point early in the start of the match following a kill by Ferreira and a block by Ferreira and senior Jasmine Frazier. That 5-4 advantage disappeared when the Bears won six straight points, however, although NSU did get to within two at 11-9 a short time later.

A 6-2 run by Morgan State was followed by an NSU timeout with the Bears up, 20-14. The lead stretched to as much as seven as Morgan State won the opening set. Ramos and Ferreira did most of their damage in the first set, combining for 10 kills.

The Spartans fell behind by a 5-1 score in the second set and twice got to within three points, the latter at 12-9 on a kill by Ramos. A 7-1 run by the Bears pushed the lead to 19-10, but two kills by Frazier and another from junior Chynna Blaker cut the deficit to four, 21-17. Morgan State responded by winning four of the last five points of the set to go up by a 2-0 score in the match.

NSU came out on fire in the third set, building a 6-3 lead with two kills from Ramos before a 5-0 run, all thanks in part to Morgan State errors, gave the Spartans an 11-4 lead. The Bears did not go quietly, as a 4-0 run cut the lead to three, 11-8. Up by a 16-12 score, NSU let Morgan State go on an 8-0 run that gave the Bears a four-point advantage late in the set. The Spartans got to within two on three separate occasions, the last at 22-20 thanks to a kill from Ramos, but the Bears won the last three points of the match for their third straight conference win.

NSU will turn right around and play Morgan State again, as the Spartans host the Bears next Friday at 6 p.m. in Gill Gymnasium.