TOWSON, Md. (September 12, 2026) – The Howard University women's volleyball team battled Arkansas Saturday afternoon at SECU Arena, earning a third-set victory before falling to the Razorbacks (25-19, 25-11, 22-25, 25-17) at the Tiger Invitational, hosted by Towson.
Howard (1-7) fought Arkansas (7-2) throughout the opening set with the Bison keeping the score within striking distance early. A kill from
Alexys James (Houston) and a service ace from
Camryn Shelton (Charlotte, N.C.) helped Howard take an early 3-2 advantage. Arkansas responded with a run behind kills from Lakin Laurendine and Elsie Law, but the Bison continued to pressure the Razorbacks. HU eventually pulled even, 12-12, before the Razorbacks regained control. Arkansas extended their advantage, 20-13, but the Bison continued to fight. Howard trimmed the deficit, 22-18, following a block involving
Estrella Vazquez (Baton Rouge, La.),
Haarachi Umenwaliri (Chapel Hill, N.C.) and
Dayion Johnson (Jasper, Ala.). Arkansas reached set point, 24-19, before closing the opening frame, 25-19.
The Razorbacks carried the momentum into the second set, although HU remained close early. The Bison trailed just one, 6-5, before Arkansas began to create separation. Arkansas built its lead, 12-5, but Howard answered with kills from Johnson and
Kennedi Wright (Plano, Texas) to cut the margin, 14-9. Arkansas continued to control the middle portion of the set, moving ahead, 20-11, before closing out the frame, 25-11, to take a 2-0 match lead.
Howard responded in the third set with its strongest performance of the afternoon.
Arkansas opened with an early advantage, building leads multiple occassions. The Bison continued to chip away, but the Razorbacks maintained a 17-12 advantage. Then, Howard found its opening.
The Bison scored five consecutive points to erase the five-point deficit and tie the set, 17-17. The run featured a Vazquez service ace and kills from Vazquez, Wright and
Easnadh Nobel To'olo (Orono, Maine) as Howard completely shifted the momentum. Arkansas ended the run to move ahead, 18-17, but HU continued to respond. The Bison moved in front, 21-18, before Arkansas cut the deficit to one. Howard held a 23-21 advantage and after the Razorbacks reached 24-21, the Bison fought off the first set point with another Arkansas error. Howard closed out the set, 25-22, when Laurendine's attack went wide, giving the Bison their first set victory of the match.
The fourth set remained competitive early with Arkansas taking a 3-0 lead before HU answered, 3-1. The Bison stayed within reach multiple times, but Arkansas gradually extended its advantage. Howard received kills from Shelton, Umenwaliri, Wright and
Sydnei Jones (Bridgeville, Pa.) during the set, but Arkansas pushed its lead to 14-7 and later 20-10. The Bison continued to battle, getting kills from Jethroe and Umenwaliri while trimming the deficit, 20-13. Arkansas answered with another run to reach 24-14. Howard fought off three match points, including a kill from Johnson and a service ace from Shelton, but Laurendine ended the match with a kill to give the Razorbacks the 25-17 fourth-set victory.
Johnson led Howard, offensively, with eight kills on 24 attacks while Jethroe and Umenwaliri each added four kills. Wright contributed four kills and six digs while Shelton finished with 13 digs and two aces. Vazquez recorded three aces while Umenwaliri added a team-high three blocks.
Jones paced the Bison with 14 assists while James added 13 assists and seven digs.
Howard finished the match with 33 kills, 29 assists, five aces, 49 digs and five total blocks.
Howard concludes the Tiger Invitational Sunday, Sept. 13, at 2 p.m., when the Bison face host school Towson.
For more information on Howard women's volleyball visit the official Howard Athletics website
www.hubison.com.
