Howard University Athletics

WASHINGTON (September 14, 2025) - Howard University volleyball ended the weekend with a straight 3-0 sweep over American (AU) Sunday afternoon in The Burr.
 
Rya McKinnon (Hoover, Ala.) opened the match with a kill. The Eagles gained the lead soon after, but the Bison did not let them get far, shooting down consecutive kills to tie the score, 7-7. HU widened the gap when Kaitlynn Robinson (Oklahoma City) sent over back-to-back kills, followed by an ace from Leah Reeves, 12-9. The charge continued as McKinnon and Zenai Jethroe (Dallas) teamed up on a block to pull away, 19-14. AU kept up with the Bison, going on a 6-5 run to keep the Bison at set point, but a kill from Kennedi Wright (Plano, Texas) sealed the deal, 25-20.
 
AU was first on the board in the second set, but soon exchanged the lead, thanks to tightly placed sets from Reeves, MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) Reigning Setter of the Week, 2-1. The Eagles began to soar away on a five-point run before ending it short with a shot to the next, 8-5. Wright brought the Bison back within one, 9-8, before sending a set over to Alexys James (Houston), who tied the match, 9-9, with a kill. Back-to-back block from American turned the tables in favor of the Eagles, 12-9. Wright tied it up, 12-12, with kills to the front line and a block with Jethroe. The Bison went on a five-point surge of their own to make the score 19-14 for the second time of the afternoon. Aiming to keep the Bison in place long enough to catch up, the Eagles broke up Howard's short run at set point with a kill. Jethroe closed it out with a kill for the second, 25-20, score of the game.
 
Howard jumped out to a 5-2 advantage in the final frame, but a four-point run flipped the script for the Eagles, 6-5. James tied the board, 6-6, before putting up two aces for the Bison. Another Eagle serve to the net and a kill from Wright inched the Bison away, 10-7. In the longest run of the game, AU went on a seven-point surge for the upper hand, 14-10. James came back with an ace/kill combo in conjunction with Jethroe to come within one, 20-19. Three straight AU kills put some space in between them and the Bison, but the herd quickly caught up with four attacks to tie the score, 23-23. Needing to win by two, the teams exchanged a one-point lead four times before back-to-back kills ended the set, 29-27.
 
Reeves led with a game-high 40 assists while McKinnon led the Bison offense with 16 kills and Camryn Shelton (Charlotte, N.C.) led the defense with 15 digs.
 
The Bison return to action Thursday, September 18, when they host High Point at 6 p.m.
 
For more information, visit the official Howard Athletics website www.hubison.com.