FAIRFAX, Va. – The Howard volleyball team posted a perfect record at the D.C. Challenge after taking home a pair of wins on the final day. The Bison battled back for a 3-1 (21-25, 25-23, 25-14, 25-22) victory over Georgetown before besting American in a five-set thriller (25-9, 25-19, 27-25, 18-25, 15-11) to close the tournament on Saturday.
Junior outside hitter Khaila Donaldson was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. She was joined by sophomore middle blocker Olubunmi Okunade and sophomore setter Tamia Dockery on the All-Tournament Team.
HOWARD 3, GEORGETOWN 1 | BOX SCORE
Howard was paced by Donaldson, who recorded the first double-double of the 2016 season with 16 kills and 12 digs.
Okunade and junior outside hitter Jessica Young registered 10 and nine kills, respectively. Senior libero Morgan Marlbrough added 17 digs while Dockery dished 40 assists.
The Bison got out to a fast 3-0 lead to start the match after two errors from the Hoyas and a block by senior Whitney Fields and sophomore Courtney Dalton. GU managed to knot the set at 14-14 before pulling away to a 20-15 advantage, forcing Howard to use a timeout. Out of the break, the Bison cut the lead to 23-21 as the Hoyas took their own break but Howard couldn't finish the run.
The second set started out as a back and forth battle. Howard took a slight 11-10 edge on a kill by senior Dominique Cleggett. Junior Carlise Cardoza followed up with back-to-back service aces to put the team up 15-13 and send GU to the bench. The Hoyas got out in front 19-18 and Howard called for time. The Bison tied the set at 21-21 on another kill from Cleggett and a GU error. A pair of kills by Donaldson and an error by the Hoyas helped the Bison take the set, 25-23.
Howard took an early timeout in the third set after trailing 7-5. The Bison bounced back, putting four straight points on the board for a 13-10 upper hand. HU kept the momentum going, punctuated by a huge spike from Dalton to put the team up 17-12. The Bison finished things up on a 12-4 run, clinching the set, 25-14.
The Bison battled back from a 5-2 deficit to tie the score at 9-9. Cleggett and Donaldson jumped together for a rejection that gave Howard a one-point edge, 14-13. The Bison extended their lead on a 7-4 run, which featured Okunade putting the ball down hard to make the Hoyas call a timeout. GU pulled within two, 23-21, but Howard kept pushing to pull out the 25-22 set victory to end the match.
HOWARD 3, AMERICAN 2 | BOX SCORE
American took a quick timeout after consecutive errors put the Howard out front 4-1. The Bison kept the pressure on to take a commanding 16-9 lead as the Eagles needed to regroup once again. Fields served for 11 straight Howard points, which included four aces. Ultimately, the Bison went on a 12-0 run to take the set, 25-9.
The two teams kept the second set close to start until a pair of aces from Donaldson and errors by the Eagles gave the Bison a 9-6 edge. American fought back to knot the score at 13-13 but couldn't get ahead as Howard went back up 18-14. Okunade put together a trio of kills and the Eagles decided they need to call for time. American couldn't get on track as HU got the set, 25-19.
The Eagles managed to get up to an 8-5 lead to begin the third set. The Bison kept getting close and finally pulled within one, 17-16, on blocks and kills from Donaldson and Okunade. Cardoza served up an ace and Donaldson tallied two more kills to push the Bison ahead, 18-17. American fought hard to tie the score at 25 before a Howard error gave the Eagles a 26-25 advantage. AU ended the comeback on an ace to win the set, 27-25, and keep the match going.
Set four started with Howard needing to use a timeout after getting into a deep 11-5 deficit. Dalton had a sequence of two kills and a solo block to bring the Bison within four, 15-11, and AU burned a timeout. Howard got as close as 18-17, but the Eagles pulled away, 25-18, to force a fifth set.
The Bison went on a 7-4 run to start the deciding set but the Eagles responded with three straight points to lock things at 7-7. The teams went on to tie the set three more times before a Dalton kill and AU attacking error put the Bison ahead for good, 15-11.
Donaldson finished with her second double-double (14 kills, 13 digs) of the day while Dalton laid down a team-high 15 kills.
Okunade tied a match-high with 10 block assists and added eight kills. Young notched nine kills and Marlbrough had a team-best 20 digs. Dockery posted her own double-double on 48 assists and 11 digs. As a team, the Bison earned 10 service aces.
The Bison will host their home opener on Tuesday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. when they welcome UMBC to Burr Gymnasium.
