PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – The Howard volleyball team had three players record double digits in kills as the squad stormed back to take down Bethune-Cookman in four sets (22-25, 25-17, 25-16, 25-18) in the semifinals of the 2016 MEAC Volleyball Championship at Hytche Athletic Center.
The Bison will be making their third straight appearance in the MEAC Championship Game. No. 1 North seed Howard (25-5) will face No.1 South seed Florida A&M (17-11) on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 12 p.m. for the title. Howard and FAMU last met in the semifinals of the 2015 MEAC Tournament, where the Bison claimed a 3-1 victory. HU has knocked the Lady Rattlers out of the tournament the past two years.
Junior Khaila Donaldson led the way for the Bison with 16 kills and a season-high 23 digs, her 12th double-double of the season. Senior Katherine Broussard came up with 15 kills and junior Jessica Young added 14 to the mix.
Sophomore Tamia Dockery was all over the court to dish 46 assists and picked up 13 digs as well. Morgan Marlbrough tallied 22 digs and junior Carlise Cardoza had 10 digs of her own.
The Bison had 22 blocks in the match, paced by senior Dominique Cleggett with six rejections. Dockery had five blocks, while senior Whitney Fields and Young posted four blocks apiece.
Howard called the first timeout of the match after B-CU got out to a 5-2 edge. The Bison kept getting close but couldn't take the lead as they trailed 15-12. HU scored three straight points a block and pair of kills to bring the score to 20-18, which forced the Wildcats to use a timeout. Back-to-back blocks by Cleggett and Young tied the set at 21 but the Bison weren't able to hold on and dropped the set, 25-22. It is the first time Howard has lost the first set of a match since Sept. 17 against Penn State.
The second set started off in Howard's favor with a 9-5 lead, which sent the Wildcats to their bench. B-CU came back onto the court and locked the set at 11 on a kill and pair of HU errors. Dockery added a pair of kills to extend the advantage to 16-11 and the Wildcats had to burn their final timeout. Two straight kills by Young and a service ace from Donaldson opened the gap to 21-13. Cleggett and Dockery met at the net for a pair of rejections and an attack error by BC-U handed over the set, 25-17.
The third set quickly turned into a back-and-forth battle with the score knotted at 8. BC-U's momentum wasn't long lived as they needed a break after an ace by Dockery put the Bison up 14-9. The Bison put together three consecutive points to send the Wildcats back to their sideline. A service error by B-CU and two hard kills by Donaldson closed the set, 25-16.
Howard doubled up on the Wildcats, 8-4, to get the final set underway. B-CU managed to pull within one, 9-8, but the Bison were quick to open the gap back up, 16-9, on consecutive aces by Donaldson. Howard a few more blocks to the stat sheet thanks to Young, Dockery and Cleggett. The Bison took a break from the action after four straight errors that allowed the Wildcats to get within five, 23-18. Good thing Donaldson had great timing with a duo of kills to wrap up the set, 25-18.
Alana Handy notched a team-high 11 kills for the Wildcats (10-21). Normarie Rolon Soto earned 23 digs and Phalen Clark handed out 27 assists.
