BALTIMORE, MD --- The Howard women's volleyball team opened play in the 2014 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament with a 3-2 over the North Carolina A&T Lady Aggies on Friday evening at the Coppin State Physical Education Complex.

Howard, the North No. 2 seed will face the Southern Division champion Florida A&M Lady Rattlers on Saturday, November 22 at 3:30 p.m. for a spot in the MEAC Championship.

Four Lady Bison players finished with 10 or more kills, led by sophomore outside hitter Katherine Broussard and senior middle blocker Assata Conway. Broussard posted a double-double (11 kills and 18 digs) and had a game-high three blocks as well. Conway also had 11 kills while sophomore middle blocker Whitney Fields had 10 kills and four digs and freshman outside hitter Khaila Donaldson recorded a double-double (10 kills, 12 digs). Senior setter Stephanie Shultis had 20 of the team's 41 assists and gave Howard a third double-double with 20 digs as well. Senior lods Allyson Lods led the Lady Bison with 21 digs, one of five Howard player with 10 or more.

Statistically, the match was one of the most abnormal games in recent memory. From a hitting perspective, eight total players posted a hitting percentage of .000 and seven players had a negative hitting percentage. Shultis' assist total (20) nearly matched North Carolina A&T as a team (21), the Lady Bison nearly reached the 100 dig mark (94 total) and Broussard's block total (three) matched A&T's as a squad.

After a pair of quick ties in set one (1-1 and 2-2), Howard slowly pulled away from A&T, taking a 16-10 lead before winning the set 25-17.

Set two was one of the strangest the team has ever played. NCAT would win the set (25-22) while posting a hitting percentage of zero (3 kills - 3 errors - 35 attempts). The Lady Aggies were able to pull it off thanks to Howard nearly posting the same percentage (15 kills - 13 errors - 50 attempts; .040).

The third set seemed to be a turning point for Howard. The Lady Bison and Lady Aggies went through four ties and four lead changes before the score hit 5-5. Once it did, A&T went on a 10-2 run to take a 15-7 advantage.Howard would respond with a 10-3 run of their own to gain some confidence and pull within one (18-17). NCAT finished the set with a 7-3 run but Howard had gotten a bit of their offensive flow back.

That rhythm combined with perseverance in set four, as both teams caused four more ties and three lead changes in the first half of the set. With the game knotted at 14-14, Howard would charge ahead with an 11-3 run to win their second set by eight points.

In the final set, Howard finally put it all together, taking the first three points, leading 8-3 at the switchover and claiming the deciding set in wire-to-wire fashion.

If the team defeats FAMU in the semifinals, the team will face the winner of the Coppin State-Hampton semifinal.