Women's Volleyball | 11/25/2014 1:58:00 AM

BALTIMORE, MD --- Senior Destinee Harrison - who sat out of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament due to injury - took us behind the scenes for an inside look at the Lady Bison's run to the MEAC Volleyball Championship Game.
 

---

NOVEMBER 20: TRAVEL DAY TO BALTIMORE
Well, its Thursday night, and the Howard University Women's Volleyball team are all snuggled in their beds, while images of MEAC rings dance in their heads!
 
The Lady Bison had a long, eventful day today. It started with a light practice at 1pm in Burr Gymnasium, followed by an hour-plus van ride to the Holiday Inn in Baltimore. It wasn't easy, but the ladies managed to squeeze 24 people in 2 vans, including luggage...talk about cramped! We didn't mind, though - we love each other!
 
Once we arrived to the hotel, the beautification process for the MEAC Awards Ceremony began. Even though we could only take a brief nap, my, were we stunning! Coach (Shaun Kupferberg) had one concern - that our heels were too high! But we were WORKING IT
 
As we arrived to Coppin State University's Gymnasium, we were seated and the event began. 
 
A major shout out and congratulations go to Khaila Donaldson (Freshman, Outside Hitter) and Stephanie Shultis (Senior, Setter) for being selected MEAC All-Conference Second Team and Assata Conway (Senior, Middle Blocker) for being selected for the MEAC All-Conference First Team for the second year in a row!
 
Oh and we can't forget Coach K, the MEAC Coach of the Year...YOU DESERVE IT!
 
Because we are bottomless pits, after snacking on the finger foods served at the banquet (and having an impromptu photo shoot in the gym) the team quickly headed over to Chipotle for an even larger feast I mean seriously, you can't go wrong with Chipotle!
 
The night ended with a quick film session and some inspirational words from the team, the captains, and our very own media relation expert, Lamar Carter!
 
Tomorrow evening we take on the North Carolina A&T Aggies at 7pm! 
 

---

NOVEMBER 21: THE FIRST STEP (NC A&T)
MY MY MY! What a long day for us! But we still have one vision and one goal. A MEAC Championship Title! 

With such a late game (Friday at 7 p.m.), the team got to do a little venturing out. We started with a 10 a.m. breakfast at Panera Bread, and from there we drove across the street to the local outlet mall. 
 
Let me tell you. All  the team needed was 5 minutes and the stores were cleaned out! For those of us that didn't go shopping, we went to go see the new Hunger Games movie, Mockingjay Part I. One word...AMAZING!
 
Once we broke the bank it was time to break into the books! Around 1 p.m. the team came back to the hotel for an hour of "study tables," as Coach K likes to call it.
 
But let me not hold you from the real excitement of the day. Shortly after the study session it was GAME TIME! 
 
We arrived at the gym early to catch a little of the Morgan State-Florida A&M game.
 
It was finally 7 p.m. and our chance to have the spotlight. When it was our time to shine we were ready, or so we thought. It was a little rough in the beginning, but boy oh boy, do the Lady Bison know how to put up a good fight!
 
First point goes to NC A&T, second point Howard, third point A&T. A non-stop battle for 4 sets straight! 
 
You could see the urgency in EVERY senior's face. I will admit a few tears were shed, but who better to bring you back in check than family. WE'VE GOT EACH OTHER'S BACKS!
 
By the fifth set, we knew, we were NOT letting up that easy.  A kill here, a block there, a finger snap and sass talk from Stephanie Shultis, and we dominated the final set. 
 
If you have high blood pressure, or bad nerves, this was NOT the game for you! Such an intense game, and it was only the beginning. 
 
No worries, you can see in everyone's eyes, from the coaching staff to the players, even to the parents and fans in the stands; EVERYBODY wants that title and a few good swings from our opponents were not going to take that away.
 
Tomorrow we are lined up to play Florida A&M in the Semi-finals at 3:30!
 

---

NOVEMBER 22: FINAL FOUR (FAMU)
And we live to fight another day!
 
Man, oh, man do we know how to make a game interesting! Jokingly we like to say we go to these fifth set matches because we want people to get their money's worth out of the tournament! Regardless we got another 5 set victory over Florida A&M today.

The day began with a little sleep in (which most were happy about since we got out of film at almost 11:30 p.m. the night before) and once we were in the vans at 11:30 a.m. sharp (as planned) we were ready to go. Thanks go to (assistant coach) Richard Hall for yelling at everybody at 11:29 that we were going to leave late and letting us know for the HUNDREDTH time that he hates being late! :)
 
We got a tasty lunch at Panera Bread and then it was off to the gym.
 
As usual, we like to get in a little early to catch the game before ours, which in this case was Coppin State and Hampton Institute (ahem, University). It was a tough battle at first, but Coppin began to fold and Hampton seized the opportunity and advanced to the title game. 
 
As soon as the court was cleared, the Lady Bison got their game faces on and went to work. We were on the court prepping and playing way before our hour warmup even began.
 
It was finally the first set, and we took a quick lead but as usual for us in the tournament, we did not come out as strong the second and third set. Who better than a fighting team like ours though to claw back in the fourth set.

If you get into a fourth set with us, it is dangerous. But forget the fourth set, if you are unfortunate enough to face the HOWARD UNIVERSITY WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL TEAM in a fifth set match, WATCH OUT! And as usual, we came out strong the fourth set. We feel behind slightly in the fifth set, but a few good blocks and kills are not going to destroy us that easily!
 
It was intense from the bench perspective; I can only image how tough it was for our six on the court! Even our lovely sophomore Dominique Cleggett got into the game and gave us a few points with blocks and a kill...YOU GO GIRL!
 
But finally, the moment we all have been waiting for...A chance at the MEAC Championship title and against Hampton; a rubber match for all the marbles!
 
Tomorrow we face the REAL H.I. (yes H.I.) at 12pm for the title!
 

---

NOVEMBER 23: A PROUD MOMENT (HAMPTON)
Well, we didn't get the fairytale ending we all expected but regardless, in this Cinderella story, she still got to the ball!
 
As we woke up this morning, we knew we could taste victory. This was the moment everyone had been waiting for all season.
 
We were a team built for adversity and to go up against Hampton would be the ultimate statement that we were back and that the Howard University Women's Volleyball program was a force to be reckoned with. 
 
An early morning breakfast at Panera Bread was followed by a van ride back to Coppin State Gym. You could see the focus in everybody's face - they were ready!
 
As we get to the gym, we do our regular pregame warm ups and dance sessions. YES I said dance! Even Coach Richard Hall did the "shmoney dance" for us! 
 
As we walked into the gym, you could see the fear in Hampton's face because we came out like we had already won!
 
Once the whistle blew and the ball flew across the net, we proved they had every reason to be afraid. Each set was a non-stop battle. First point Howard, second point Hampton. Third point Howard, fourth point Hampton. It was back and fourth for all three sets of the game.
 
With such close games (23-25, 22-25, 26-28), we could be proud of how we played, even though the scoreboard said we were swept.
 
Unfortunately, the game did not go in our favor and the MEAC Title was given to Hampton. We had no reason to hold our heads down. 

After the game during a quick "team meeting" with Coach Kup, you could tell how proud everyone was of what we had accomplished. It was honestly more of a team cry session because everyone was so chocked up that words didn't even come out.
 
Needless to say, our season has come to an end and we are now looking towards 2015. For our six seniors - if I may speak of their behalf, being amongst them - we have no regrets and are proud of the progress we have made as women and as a program! Personally, if I had to do it all over again, I would choose the EXACT same 16 young ladies and bet on them every time! 
 
This is not farewell for the Bison, this is "until next time!" See you all at the 2015 MEAC Championship!

Destinee