DOVER, Del. (March 22, 2021) – Howard University women's volleyball team dropped a tough road bout at Delaware State (DSU) in four sets (16-25, 26-24, 18-25, 25-27).
Juniors
Kailyn Williams (12 digs and 10 kills) and
Milexa Cardona (38 assists and 10 digs) led the Bison, each producing a double-double in the loss.
In the opening frame, both squads were deadlocked at seven until the Lady Hornets created separation with a 5-1 run that forced HU to use a timeout, 8-12. After the short intermission, DSU's momentum continued and propelled Delaware State in game one, 25-16.
Howard responded in set two with a .290 hitting percentage, led by sophomore
Tamar Wells (Apopka, Fla.) and newcomer
Jennifer Bolden (Los Angeles) combining for eight kills.
DSU's Valeria Otero delivered a kill and put the Lady Hornets ahead early, 3-4, but HU answered with three consecutive points to take a 6-4 advantage. HU extended its lead as much as four, but Delaware State refused to go away. Both clubs were knotted at 24 until a pair of errors from DSU ended game two and tied the contest at one apiece.
After leading wire-to-wire in game three and reclaiming the match lead, 1-2, DSU scored the first three points in game four, but the Bison rebounded and held a slim two-point advantage after kills from Williams (Arlington, Texas) and Cardona (Kissimmee, Fla.), 10-8.
Neither team was able to create breathing room in the fourth frame, knotting up on multiple occasions. With both squads deadlocked at 25, Delaware State scored the final two points to win the match off a pair of Bison hitting errors.
Bolden registered a season-high 14 kills, followed by redshirt junior
Marcelle Butler (Canton, Ga.) and Wells with nine and eight kills, respectively.
Defensively, freshman
Amari Patterson (Waukegan, Ill.) posted a team-best 15 digs in the loss.
For DSU (8-4, 4-3 MEAC), they finished with a .318 hitting percentage. Otero notched a match-high 15 kills in the win.
Howard closes out the regular season Sunday (March 28) versus DSU. Match time is slated for 3 p.m. inside Burr Gymnasium.
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at
www.HUBison.com.
