Dover, Del. (Mar. 25, 2021) --- Delaware State's 10-year absence from the MEAC Volleyball Tournament has come to an end. The Hornets clinched second place in the MEAC Northern Division and a berth in next week's conference championship tournament with a 3-1 victory over Morgan State in Memorial Hall Thursday evening.
Only the top two teams in the MEAC's Northern and Southern divisions receive tournament berths in this pandemic affected season. Thursday's victory clinched the runner-up spot for the Hornets in the Northern Division race. Coppin State clinched the No. 1 North seed last weekend.
Delaware State last competed in the MEAC Tournament in 2010. That season, the Hornets won two matches to advance to the final, but fell to South Carolina State 3-1 in the championship contest.
The banged up Hornets got off to a slow start in Thursday's match, dropping the first set 25-21. DSU played without injured starters Jasmal Cruz (so.), the team's top defensive specialist, and middle blocker Erika Lindqvist (r-so.), who is third on the club in blocks.
Delaware State evened the match with a hard-fought 27-25 victory in set two. The score was tied 17 times in the second set.
The Hornets took the momentum from their set two win to grab a 2-1 lead in the contest with a 25-16 victory in the third set, and also won 25-16 in set four to clinch the match.   
Freshman Alondra Maldonado led a balanced DSU attack with a career-best 15 kills. Maldonado posted a .414 hitting percentage in the match, recording her winners on 29 attacks.
Valeria Otero (fr.) continues to strengthen her case for MEAC top rookie honors, tallying 13 kills and leading all players with 17 digs. It marks the fifth time this season that she has reached double-figures in kills and digs in a match.
Kristi Gomez (jr.) and Mayah Ngundam (sr.) were tied for third on the Hornets with 11 kills each. Gomez also recorded five more service aces in the contest, raising her season total to a MEAC-high 36. She also posted a season-best .455 hitting percentage in the match, totaling just 23 attacks for her 11 winners. Ngundam had four total blocks, two solo.
DSU setter Alayna Lacy (fr.) tallied had a career-high 30 assists, while Maria Caratini (fr.), filling in for the injured Cruz, contributed 12 digs to the win.
Jelena Dukic (sr.) had 25 assists and 10 digs for the Hornets.
Tyalr Roberson led Morgan State with 14 kills, while teammate Jada Bivins led all players with 32 assists.
Delaware State had a .275 hitting percentage in the match, collecting 62 kills and 24 errors on 138 attacks. Morgan State had 42 kills and 24 miscues for a .130 percentage.
The Hornets recorded 60 digs and 11 blocks, compared to 46 and six for the Bears.
The teams will meet again Friday at Morgan State (6:00 p.m.). The Hornets will close out the regular season on Sunday (Mar. 28) at Howard (2:00 p.m.).