NORFOLK, Va. – The Howard volleyball team picked up a straight-set victory (25-9, 25-18, 25-17) over Norfolk State on Wednesday night in its final road trip of the regular season.
The Bison (22-5) improved to 11-0 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). Howard has only dropped two sets since beginning conference play in September and has won 25 consecutive league matches, dating back to the 2015 season.
Junior Jessica Young hit a career-high .647 after she connected on 12 of 17 swings. Classmate Khaila Donaldson had a match-best 15 kills to go along with five digs and two aces, while sophomore Tamia Dockery tallied 35 assists.
Defensively, senior Morgan Marlbrough led the charge on match-high 18 digs. Senior Whitney Fields and sophomore Courtney Dalton posted two blocks apiece.
Howard dominated the opening set with a 15-7 run that sent NSU to its bench twice. The Spartans went on to only score two more points, both due to errors by the Bison. Howard posted four straight points on kills by Young, Dalton and senior Dominique Cleggett. The set ended on an attack error by NSU, 25-9.
The two teams went head-to-head to start the second set, which included eight ties and three lead changes. After being tied at 10, the Bison got out to a 19-14 advantage on a service ace by senior Katherine Broussard and kills from four different players. Donaldson tallied three kills and closed the set on an ace, 25-18.
Four consecutive errors by the Bison gave NSU a slight 7-6 edge. Howard quickly bounced back to go up 18-12 on kills by Young and Donaldson. A strong hit by Dalton forced the Spartans to use a timeout as Howard led 22-16. Back on the court, freshman Kira Porter and Dalton joined together for a block before Porter slammed down the final kill of the match to take the set, 25-17.
Jessica Johnson had six kills for NSU (6-18, 4-6 MEAC). Jill Aquino finished the night with 13 assists and Tori Tulensru earned eight digs.
Howard will host its final regular season match on Friday, Nov. 4 when Morgan State comes to Burr Gymnasium. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
