ORANGEBURG, S.C. — South Carolina State showed fight and resilience throughout a back-and-forth Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference battle Sunday before falling to Morgan State in five sets at Dukes Gymnasium.
The Lady Bulldogs pushed the Bears to the limit before Morgan State escaped with a 3-2 victory. SC State won the opening and third sets, but Morgan State answered each time and eventually secured the deciding fifth set. The final set scores were
25-23, 17-25, 25-21, 18-25 and 13-15.
SC State came out strong offensively, hitting .317 in the opening set behind 16 kills before closing out a tight 25-23 win. After Morgan State evened the match in the second, the Lady
Bulldogs responded with one of their strongest offensive stretches of the afternoon, hitting
.370 with 11 kills and only one attack error to take the third set 25-21.
Morgan State forced the deciding fifth set with a 25-18 win in the fourth. The Lady Bulldogs continued to battle in the finale. SC State trailed 11-9 before staying within striking distance, but Morgan State managed to close out the 15-13 decision.
Jessika Martinez led SC State's attack with
14 kills, while
Hedia Lewis added 11 kills and
Amani Hawkins finished with 10. Martinez hit .250 on 32 attacks, Lewis hit .207 and Hawkins added five digs.
De'Oni McPhearson contributed four kills while hitting .286 and led the Bulldogs' net defense with three block assists.
SC State also received a strong defensive performance from
Ki'ra Wright, who collected a match-high
18 digs.
Kiyla Mighty and Arianna James each recorded 16 assists, helping the Lady Bulldogs finish with
48 assists on 50 kills. James also delivered two of SC State's five service aces.
Despite the loss, SC State finished with
more kills than Morgan State, 50-42, and the teams each totaled 59 points from their listed scoring categories. The match featured
32 ties and 12 lead changes, underscoring how tightly contested the five-set battle was.
SC State Match Highlights
- Final: Morgan State 3, SC State 2 — 23-25, 25-17, 21-25, 25-18, 15-13
- Jessika Martinez: 14 kills, .250 hitting percentage
- Hedia Lewis: 11 kills
- Amani Hawkins: 10 kills, five digs
- De'Oni McPhearson: Four kills, .286 hitting percentage, three block assists
- Ki'ra Wright: Match-high 18 digs
- Kiyla Mighty: 16 assists
- Arianna James: 16 assists, two service aces
- SC State team totals: 50 kills, 48 assists, 51 digs, five aces and four total team blocks
- SC State's best hitting set: Third set — .370 with 11 kills and one error
- Match intensity: 32 ties and 12 lead changes
- Attendance: 189 at Dukes Gymnasium
- Match time: 3 hours, 2 minutes
- Records: SC State fell to 4-15 overall and 0-4 in MEAC play, while Morgan State improved to 3-13 overall and 2-2 in the MEAC.
