WASHINGTON --- After playing three consecutive games over the weekend the Bison dropped their match this afternoon, falling to the No. 1 Stanford Cardinal at home, 16-25, 22-25, 15-25.

Howard showed great effort, but were out-matched by Stanford. The Cardinal had 35 kills to Howard's 24 and 33 assists to Howard's 19. The Bison were also out-blocked by the Cardinal making the competition tough in Burr Gym.

"We were really aggressive defensively. We got a little bit better offensively but defensively was what set the tone for the night. We held them under 100 hitting percentage that first game. We were getting some big digs, some big blocks and a lot of good things were happening on our side," said head coach Shaun Kupferberg.  "Offensively we were struggling a little bit. Our serve receive was a little bit slow to heat up today and that limited our offensive options so hopefully we can pick that up. Second game we picked that up and we were able to get a close one. Hopefully that's the way we play when we put the offense and defense together."

Howard's best showing came in the second set. They held the lead twice, going up 10-8 and tying the game 22-22 after a 4 point run. The Cardinal managed to pull the match away with 2 kills and an attack error to round out their final 3 points. The Cardinal would go on to lead most of the third set, winning it 25-15. The Cardinal improve to 2-0.

"Right now we are just a little inconsistent and that's part of the growth process of having a young team. We need to grow into our skill set. We are really athletic and can compete with the players at this level. It's just a matter of putting it all together." Their record is now 2-2.

Tamia Dockery was a big asset tonight totaling 17 assists, 6 digs, 2 blocks and 2 kills. Marcelle Butler and Courtney Dalton had 5 and 4 kills respectively.
Jurnee Tipton led the Bison with 10 kills. Fola Wilson had 13 digs and 2 assists. Olubunmi Okunade posted 2 kills and 1 block.

The Bison are on the road this weekend in Beaumont, TX to take on Texas Southern, Lamar University and Southern University in the Cardinal Classic.

Follow the Bison

For complete coverage of Howard University women's volleyball, follow the Bison on social media at @HUBisonVB (Twitter), @HowardVolleyball (Facebook) and @HowardVolleyball (Instagram) or visit the official home of Howard University Athletics at HUBison.com.

About Howard University Athletics

The Howard University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics sponsors 19 NCAA Division I men and women varsity sports. The programs represent six conferences: the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association (CCSA), Sun Belt Conference, Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) and Atlantic Sun (ASUN) Conference. Visit www.hubison.com to learn more.