QUEENS, N.Y. (September 6, 2019) – Howard University women's volleyball team set a new school record in hitting percentage after sweeping Canisius in three sets (25-19, 25-16, 25-20). HU eclipsed a .446 mark, shattering the previous school record of .415.
 
Overall, the Bison registered 49 kills throughout the match while limiting their hitting errors to eight.
 
"We played well tonight," said Howard women's volleyball head coach Shaun Kupferberg after the match versus Canisius. "[We] showed a lot of growth in our offense by limiting our hitting errors while still being aggressive. If we can do that consistently, we will be tough to beat."
 
Junior Jurnee Tipton (Ypsilanti, Mich.) led the Bison attack with a match-high 15 kills while recording a .652 hitting percentage. Senior Kira Porter (Lake Tahoe, Nev.) added nine kills with a .727 hitting percentage while freshmen Semira Blair (Fort Worth, Texas) and Kayla Diaz (Nanuet, N.Y.) combined for 41 assists in the victory.
 
Howard opened the day with a tough five-set loss to Columbia, despite a valiant comeback (20-25, 17-25, 25-23, 25-23, 14-16).
 
"I'm proud of the team and how they came back from a slow start," Kupferberg stated after the contest against Columbia. "Columbia has a big time player in ChiChi [Ikwuazom] that controlled large parts of the match. We need to be a better more consistent team if we expect to have a better result."
 
Columbia's ChiChi Ikwuazom guided the Lions, registering 27 kills while eclipsing a .389 hitting percentage.
 
After dropping the first two sets, HU rallied to take sets three and four to force a fifth and deciding set. In the fifth set, Howard held the upper hand late, but the Lions clawed their way back to take the set and match.
 
Porter led the way with 10 kills, seven blocks (one solo), three digs and an ace. Newcomer Macy Witt-Nobles (Rosharon, Texas) produced a match-best 12 kills while junior Abby Morrow (Detroit) racked up a team-leading 17 digs in the loss.
 
Saturday (Sept. 7), Howard wraps up the weekend against St. John's. Match-time is set for noon on ESPN3.
 
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com.