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November 24, 1997
By A. Lamont GermanyMorgan State University has become the first HBCU in the history of the NCAA to send a volleyball team to the Division I post season tournament. "The Lady Bears" of MSU qualified for the "Show", by defeating Grambling State, 3-0 (15-5, 15-2, 15-8), in a Play-In match on Friday, November 21, 1997.
Volleyball has never had a team from an historically black college participate in the playoffs until now. The Lady Bears finished the regular season with a 25-9 mark, including a 10-0 mark in the MEAC. They are currently on a 14 match winning streak.
The trip to the playoffs represents the firsttime any team sport at Morgan has ever qualified for an NCAA Division I Post Season Tournament. It's alsothe first time in 18 years any Morgan program has qualified for post-season on any NCAA level. The 1979 Morgan football team participated in the NCAA Division II playoffs.
The Volleyball pairings will be announced on Sunday, November 30, 1997 at5:30PM Central Time.
The Lady Bears got great performances from several players in the win over Grambling. Junior Nyree Moore had a great match as she served up 4 aces and had 8 kills against the Lady Tigers. Senior Malia Price had 8 kills to go along with 2 block solos and 4 block assists, while Tiffany Pickens had 6 kills and an outstanding .857 hitting percentage.
The win over Grambling represents a crowning achievement to what has been amagnificent season for the Lady Bear volleyball program in 1997. Morgan finished 10-0in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Northern Division this year. The Lady Bearshave tied the All-Time Morgan record for wins in a season with 25. MSU placed 3 playerson the MEAC ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM (Jakaria Stewart, Monica Scott, and Tiffany Pickens). Morgan Head Coach Ramona Riley Bozier was voted MEAC Coach of the Year.
The Lady Bears have not tasted defeatsince being beaten by American University back on October 9, 1997. The 14 match winstreak is the longest in Lady Bear volleyball history. Morgan has won 24 of their last 25MEAC matches. The only MEAC defeat in the last 2 seasons was to FAMU in the 1996MEAC Tournament Finals.
LADY BEAR FIRSTS.... The Grambling win gives Morgan volleyball a long listof firsts, including;
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