WASHINGTON – Howard volleyball (14-13, MEAC 10-3) ends this season's home slate on a high handing the undefeated Coppin State (22-4, MEAC 11-1) their first conference loss of the season in Sunday afternoon's 3-2 five-set thriller.
HU was led by notable Bison Rya McKinnon (Hoover, Ala.) with her seventh double-double of the season (22 kills and 11 digs). Fellow second-year Claire Simpson (Plainfield, Ill.) notched an additional game-high 23 digs while five-time conference setter of the Week Kayla Diaz posted a game-high 42 assists.
Although Coppin opened the scoring, Howard would hold a one-point edge over the Eagles through the first five points before the Eagles tied it up with a kill, 5-5. The conference powerhouses would stay neck and neck leveling the board five times before three consecutive kills led by senior Jennifer Bolden (Los Angeles, Calif.) gave the Bison an 18-16 lead.
A 4-1 run bookended by errors would turn the tables in the Eagles' favor, 20-19 - prompting the Bison to use a timeout.
The break proved futile as an error and two more kills from Bolden tied the board 22-22.
A rally kept in the air for over a minute had the fans on edge before an Eagle touched a little too hard sending the ball out of bounds to give Howard a 23-22 lead.
A bad set would cue the first set-point before the Bison claimed the frame with a big kill by duo Cimone Woodard (Missouri City, Texas) and Kayla Diaz (Rockland, NY), 25-23.
The Eagles jumped out to an 8-4 advantage to open the second set. A 3-0 charge led by junior Maya Gerlach's (Philadelphia, Pa.) straight kills put the Bison within one, 8-7.
Back-to-back errors would push the Bison ahead 11-10 before miscues would extend the gap 15-12.
A four-count run highlighted by a service ace would give Coppin an 18-16 advantage before capitalizing off of miscues across the net to lead 22-18
After inching closer thanks to shots out of bounds, a kill by Bolden dropped between three diving Eagles to hold off CSU, 23-21.
Straight missteps would aid the Eagles in closing out the set, claiming their first frame of the afternoon, 25-21.
With four straight kills split between the Woodard sisters and Bolden, HU broke out to a 4-1 lead in the rubber set
A 5-1 run led by Coppin redshirt senior Paola Caten (Tampa, Fla.) would help the top-ranked team reach a 6-5 lead.
The lead was short-lived as a break gave the Bison time to strategize. Out of the Bison timeout, the points began to soar on Cimone Woodard's rotation. The Eagles, struggling to get a hand on the powerful kills being sent into their territory would give away the lead hitting the attacks out of bounds four consecutive times, 10-6.
It was the Eagles' turn to soar as a 6-1 surge gave the visitors a one-point advantage 12-11.
With C. Woodard back in the corner, the Bison would inch closer with a service ace dropping right down the net, 18-17.
Back-to-back kills by team leader Rya McKinnon would level the board 19-19.
The Eagles would retaliate with consecutive kills of their own to bounce back 21-19.
Transfer Amanda Ifeanyichukwu (The Woodlands, Texas) would tie the scoreboard once again with a kill to the left side of the Eagle's nest, 21-21.
A service ace sandwiched by kills would drive set-point before second-year Eagle TaKenya Stafford (Los Angeles, Calif) closed the third frame with a kill 25-22.
Looking to force a fifth set, The Bison cut the Eagles early lead with consecutive kills followed by a service ace from senior Amari Patterson to gain the advantage 4-3.
The Eagles would utilize a couple of miscues to lead by three, 8-5.
HU answered back with an uncontested five-point run to turn the tide in their favor once again, 10-8. A collection of errors would widen the gap by one extending the lead 12-9.
Missteps would aid the Eagles in gaining the upper hand when back-to-back errors made the score 14-13 Eagles.
A 5-1 run highlighted by C. Woodard's third ace of the afternoon would push the Bison ahead 20-17.
The Eagles managed two more kills before handing Howard set-point.
The Bison ignited the crowd when duo Bolden and C. Woodard closed out the fourth frame with a block that echoed through Burr Gymnasium forcing the final set.
Sophomore Leah Reeves (Allen, Texas) opened the final rotation where the Bison gained an early 2-0 lead thanks to straight kills from juniors C. Woodard and Dami Awojobi (Hempstead, NY).
Aside from two tied scores, the Bison maintained the edge throughout the set capitalizing off of three multi-point runs.
Consecutive errors across the net would put the match win in view for the Bison, 18-4.
The latter of the two would cause the Eagles to challenge, but the call stood with Reeves returning to serve.
The Eagles would extend the match coming out of the break with a kill but a retaliatory kill from C. Woodard would be the final nail in the coffin, 15-9.
The Bison finished the afternoon with a slight advantage over the Eagles in kills (36-21), digs (90-80), hitting % (.175-.124), assists (56-44), and aces (7-4).
The Bison close the regular season on Friday, November 10th at 6 PM when they travel to Norfolk, Va. to face the Spartans.
For more information visit the Howard Athletics website www.HUBison.com
