DOVER, Del. – The Howard volleyball team picked up its first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) road victory after defeating Delaware State, 3-1, on Sunday afternoon at Memorial Hall.

The Bison moved up to 12-5 (2-0 MEAC) on the season, while the Hornets drop to 0-13 (0-1 MEAC).

Junior Khaila Donaldson had her seventh double-double (16 kills, 11 digs). Senior Whitney Fields notched five kills to go along with a match-high six blocks. Classmate Dominique Cleggett put up eight kills and four blocks. Sophomore Courtney Dalton also had four blocks and five kills.

Sophomore Tamia Dockery handed out 32 assists, while senior Morgan Marlbrough finished with a team-high 13 digs. Junior Jessica Young added nine kills to the stat sheet.

Howard hit .325 while holding DSU to a -.036 hitting mark. None of the Hornets reached double digits in kills as NaKia Jones paced the team with eight. Gabriella Enriquez had 20 assists and Alliyah McBean posted 15 digs.

The Bison came out firing on all cylinders to start the match on a 12-5 run. Howard extended its lead behind a pair of kills from Donaldson and service ace by Marlbrough. DSU could not seem to find its footing as it was plagued by errors while Howard kept the pressure on to open the gap to 17-7. The Bison outscored the Hornets 8-3 in the final tallies and junior Carlise Cardoza served up an ace to close the set, 25-10.

DSU was able to stay within three, 9-6, to open the second set. Howard sprinted away to a 17-6 lead after it scored eight straight points, which included three blocks by Young and Fields for a DSU timeout. Dalton put together a kill and block combo that pushed the Hornets' deficit to 22-8. Two more kills by Donaldson and an ace from Broussard ended the set, 25-9.

The Hornets hung tough throughout the third set as the Bison had a slight 10-9 edge. DSU tied the score five more times before Howard had a 16-14 lead thanks to a pair of attack errors by the home team. Momentum shifted after Howard recorded four consecutive errors, giving the Hornets an 18-17 advantage. The Bison took the lead back but DSU locked the score at 20. With the Hornets up 22-20, Howard called for time. A pair of perfectly timed kills by Broussard and senior Briana Jackson once again tied the set, 23-23. Howard could not hold on and dropped the set, 26-24.

In the fourth set, Cleggett, Dalton and Donaldson helped the Bison go up 7-2 on three straight rejections at the net. Howard doubled up on the Hornets, 16-8, on kills from Fields and Cleggett. The Bison refused to slow down and Dockery nailed a spike to end the match.

Howard is headed to Baltimore to battle Morgan State on Thursday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m.