WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Howard volleyball team begins it Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) title defense when it hosts Maryland Eastern Shore on Friday, Sept. 23. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Burr Gymnasium. The Bison will travel to Delaware State for a 3 p.m. matchup on Sunday, Sept. 25.
The Bison closed out its non-conference schedule last weekend at the Penn State Invitational. The team picked up its first win against an Atlantic Coast Conference foe in program history after besting Clemson, 3-1. Junior Khaila Donaldson was placed on the All-Tournament Team.
Howard is taking a 10-5 overall record into Friday's match and have won six of their last eight outings.
On Monday, senior Morgan Marlbrough and sophomore Tamia Dockery earned their third MEAC weekly honors after being named Defensive Specialist and Setter of the Week, respectively. Donaldson was tabbed as the Player of the Week for the second time.
Donaldson has 1,020 career kills, which ranks fourth all-time in program history. Marlbrough joins her in the record books with 1,148 digs to sit fifth and just need five more digs to move into fourth place. Senior Katherine Broussard is three digs shy of reaching 1,000 digs for her career.
As a team, Howard ranks in the top five in seven different categories among the MEAC standings. The Bison lead the conference in kills (12.09) and assists (11.20) per set. The squad has also limited its opponents to a .161 hitting percentage, which is first in the MEAC.
Dockery tops the league with 9.43 assists/set and sophomore Olubunmi Okunade stands first in blocks/set (1.26) and total blocks (54). Marlbrough is third with 4.34 digs/set. Donaldson ranks 10th in points (261.0), 45th in points/set (4.66) and 56th in kills/set (3.96) in the NCAA DI national standings. Her figures also lead the MEAC.
Howard is 8-20 in the all-time series against UMES. The Hawks (7-8) have lost their last six matches, five of which were three-set sweeps. The Bison have won the last six meetings with the Hawks and only dropped two sets dating back to the 2013 season.
DSU is yet to win a match this season and has an 0-12 mark. Sabina Szmajduch leads the Hornets with 2.13 kills/set while Alliyah McBean has 4.63 digs/set. The Bison lead the all-time series 45-13.
Fans can keep up with the team by following @HUBisonVB on Twitter.
