Morgan State Unable to Finish Sets in 3-0 Loss to Mercyhurst
Morgan State volleyball found itself in position to win all three sets Friday, but Mercyhurst delivered the decisive points late as the Bears fell 3-0 at the Bobcat Invitational in Athens, Ohio. Mercyhurst defeated Morgan State 26-24, 25-23 and 25-22 at Ohio University’s Convocation Center on Sept. 18. The loss dropped Morgan State to 1-11, while Mercyhurst improved to 4-7 in the first meeting between the programs.
The final score did not fully reflect how competitive the match was. Morgan State finished with advantages in kills, 39-36, assists, 36-32, and digs, 39-38. Both teams recorded six total blocks, but Mercyhurst held an important 7-2 advantage in service aces, giving the Lakers additional points in a match where every set was decided by four points or fewer.
Aubrey Wilson delivered one of the strongest offensive performances for Morgan State, recording a team-high eight kills on just nine attempts. Wilson hit a career- and match-high .778 while also contributing a solo block. Michaela Panekova, Tre’Niya Miller and Nathalia Ferreira Morais each added six kills, giving Morgan State several productive options at the net.
Setter Isabelle Brown also turned in a strong all-around performance for the Bears. Brown recorded her second double-double of the season with a match-high 26 assists and 10 digs. Tameary Wardlaw and Bailey Swinton each added six digs, while Miller led Morgan State at the net with three blocks.
Morgan State appeared capable of taking control during the opening set. The Bears trailed 16-15 before scoring four consecutive points to move ahead 19-16, but Mercyhurst immediately answered with a four-point run to take a 20-19 advantage. Morgan State eventually fought back from a 24-22 deficit and tied the set at 24 following a Swinton service ace, but a Bears service error followed by a Mercyhurst ace gave the Lakers the final two points and a 26-24 victory.
The Bears produced 16 kills in the first set, their highest total of the match, but eight attack errors prevented them from turning that production into a victory. Mercyhurst had only 10 kills in the set while committing four attack errors. That difference in mistakes became significant during a set decided by only two points.
Morgan State had an even better opportunity to even the match during the second set. The Bears built a 17-11 advantage and still held a 23-20 lead late, putting themselves just two points away from closing out the set. Mercyhurst responded by scoring five consecutive points, however, stunning Morgan State with a 25-23 victory and taking a commanding 2-0 match lead.
The Bears again held a lead during the third set after breaking a 9-9 tie with three straight points. Morais later put Morgan State ahead 17-14 with a kill, but Mercyhurst answered with a 6-1 run to take a 20-18 lead. The Lakers eventually pushed their advantage to 24-19 before Morgan State made one final push, scoring three straight points before Julia Shepherd ended the match with a kill.
Shepherd led Mercyhurst with 11 kills, while Ava Carney contributed nine kills and a match-high five blocks. Alyssa Krause finished with 19 assists for the Lakers. Mercyhurst saved its most efficient offensive set for last, hitting .281 in the third compared with Morgan State’s .216.
One encouraging development for Morgan State was the debut of newcomer Azra Arslanoglu. She entered the starting lineup for the second set and finished with five kills, five blocks and two assists, according to Morgan State’s recap. Her addition gives the Bears another potential contributor as the schedule shifts toward conference competition.
The result continued a difficult nonconference start for Morgan State. The Bears entered the Bobcat Invitational with one victory, a 3-1 win over Saint Peter’s on Sept. 4, and the Mercyhurst loss became their 10th defeat of the season at that point. Morgan State’s nonconference schedule has included matches against programs such as Towson, Loyola Maryland, Georgetown, George Mason and George Washington.
MSB Take
Morgan State was much closer to winning this match than the 3-0 final suggests. The Bears led during critical portions of all three sets and actually produced more kills, assists and digs than Mercyhurst, but they could not consistently finish once the sets reached their decisive stages. Losing the second set after leading 23-20 was particularly costly because a victory there could have completely changed the direction of the match.
There were still positives for Morgan State, especially Wilson’s extremely efficient performance, Brown’s double-double and the debut of Arslanoglu. The Bears showed that they could create leads and compete point-for-point, but turning those stretches into set victories remains the next step. Cleaning up service and attack errors while becoming more composed with late leads will be important as Morgan State moves deeper into its schedule.
