NORFOLK, Va. — Howard volleyball closed out the regular season in dominant fashion, earning a 3–0 sweep (25–17, 25–21, 25–10) over Norfolk State Friday evening inside the Gill Health & Physical Education Building. With the victory, the Bison improved to 16–10 overall and 10–4 in conference play.

Howard established early control in the opening set, using back-to-back service aces from senior setter Leah Reeves (Allen, Texas) to build a 6–3 advantage. Norfolk briefly tied the score at 6–6, but the Bison quickly regained momentum behind kills from Kennedi Wright (Plano, Texas), Kristen Dear (Carson, Calif.), and Rya McKinnon (Hoover, Ala.). Howard continued to separate midway through the frame, extending its lead to 14–10 before closing the set on a 9–3 run to secure the frame 25–17.

Set two featured a tighter battle, with both teams trading points throughout the early stretch. Howard began to create space behind consecutive kills from McKinnon and a strong serving run by Camryn Shelton (Charlotte, N.C.) to move ahead 12–8. Norfolk rallied to tie the set at 13–13, but the Bison responded with timely side-outs and defensive consistency. With the score even at 20–20, Howard finished the frame on a 5–1 surge, led by Alexys James (Houston, Texas), Wright and Zenai Jethroe (Dallas, Texas), to close out the stanza 25–21.

The Bison dominated the third set from start to finish, opening on a 3–0 burst fueled by Gabby Allen (Laurel, Md.) with a kill and an ace. After Norfolk trimmed the deficit to 3–2, Howard answered with a 9–4 run featuring kills from McKinnon, Dear and James, along with another ace from James to push the lead to 13–6. Howard's offense continued to overwhelm the Spartans while the defense forced multiple errors, allowing just four more points the rest of the way. Shelton delivered multiple kills during the final stretch as the Bison rolled to a 25–10 win to complete the sweep.

McKinnon led all players with 14 kills, adding two blocks and two digs. Jethroe posted seven kills and four blocks, while Dear contributed six kills on .600 hitting. Reeves directed the offense with 31 assists and three aces, and Simpson anchored the back row with a match-high 17 digs. As a team, Howard hit .348 while holding Norfolk to .108, and the Bison led in kills (41–27), aces (9–3), assists (39–25) and digs (39–32).

With the win, Howard secures the No. 2 seed entering next week's MEAC Volleyball Championship, set for November 20–22 in Baltimore, Md.

For more information on Howard Volleyball, visit the official Howard Athletics website at www.hubison.com