LOS ANGELES (September 13, 2019) – Howard University women's volleyball team opened the Trojan Invitational with a 3-0 loss (16-25, 19-25, 15-25) to a talented Villanova squad inside The Galen Center.
 
"Villanova is a great team that doesn't make many mistakes," said Howard women's volleyball Shaun Kupferberg. "I liked how we competed and look forward to seeing what we bring tomorrow."
 
Junior Jurnee Tipton (Ypsilanti, Mich.) led the way, recording a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs, both match highs.
 
The first set saw HU down one after a kill from sophomore Kailyn Williams (Arlington, Texas), 11-10, but the Bison committed six unforced errors that helped Villanova pull away.
 
Sets two and three witnessed the Wildcats grab the upper hand early, but Howard rallied in both. Villanova would withstand both Bison's comebacks to win the sets and contest.
 
Howard (2-7) finished the night unable to get into a rhythm, committing 20 hitting errors.
 
Senior Kira Porter (Lake Tahoe, Nev.) produced nine kills while registering a .438 hitting percentage. The freshmen duo of Kayla Diaz (Nanuet, N.Y.) and Semira Blair (Fort Worth, Texas) combined for 27 assists in the loss.
 
For Villanova (7-1), Remy Fairchild and Mallory Potts had eight kills apiece while Emma Decker recorded a match-best 31 assists in the win.
 
Saturday (Sept. 14), Howard takes on No. 20 USC at 1:30 p.m. (ET), followed by Yale at 8 p.m. (ET)
 
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com.