PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – The Howard volleyball team extended its win streak to 14 matches as it cruised to a three-set victory (25-11, 25-17, 25-18) over N.C. Central in the quarterfinals of the 2016 MEAC Volleyball Championship on Friday afternoon in Hytche Athletic Center.
With the win, No. 1 North seed Howard (24-5) will face No. 2 South seed Bethune-Cookman (10-20) in a semifinal match on Saturday at 12 p.m.
Junior Khaila Donaldson posted her 11th double-double of the season thanks to 10 kills and 11 digs. Classmate Jessica Young was right behind her with nine kills, while seniors Dominique Cleggett and Katherine Broussard had seven kills apiece.
Sophomore Tamia Dockery added 20 assists to the stat sheet and senior Briana Jackson finished with 13 helpers.
Defensively, Broussard led the charge with a team-high 12 digs, followed by senior Morgan Marlbrough with 10. Senior Whitney Fields was a force at the net for the Bison, coming up with six blocks.
Howard hit .320 as a team and once again proved it has one of the toughest defenses in the nation as it held the Eagles to a .010 hitting percentage.
NCCU burned an early timeout as the Bison opened the match up 8-5. After the break, Howard went on a 10-4 run, which included block two kills and a block by Donaldson and a pair of kills from Young. Cleggett put together a block and kill combo to extend the advantage to 22-10. Classmate Janaya Hampton served up an ace and Young followed up with her fifth kill to take the set, 25-11.
Fields made her presence known at the net with three blocks and helped Howard double up on the Eagles to start the second set with a 12-6 lead. The Bison called for time after NCCU pulled within four, 16-12, on three HU errors. Freshman Kira Porter was ready at the net for a quick put back and strong kill to end the set, 25-17.
It seemed that NCCU regrouped during the 10-mintue break between sets as it went up 7-4 to get play started. Donaldson came through with a kill and Broussard recorded an ace for a 9-7 lead. The Bison kept pounding from there, jumping ahead 20-13 thanks to multiple NCCU errors and kills by Young. The Eagles were able to pull within five, 22-17. The momentum didn't last long as Donaldson put the ball down hard and Porter had an ace to close the set, 25-18.
Kelsey Murphy was just shy of a double-double with 10 kills and nine digs for NCCU. Paige Phillips handed out 18 assists and Bree Simmons tallied a match-best 13 digs.
Saturday's outing will be a rematch of last year's MEAC Championship Game. Howard and Bethune-Cookman faced each other this past October when the Bison swept the Wildcats in Burr Gymnasium.
