UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Howard women's volleyball team dropped a pair on the final day of the Penn State Invitational after being swept by No. 20 Penn State (16-25, 12-25, 16-25) and falling in a five-set thriller to Rhode Island (25-23, 16-25, 25-18, 16-25, 8-15).
With the conclusion of the two-day tournament, the Bison are 10-5 overall.
HOWARD 0, PENN STATE 3
Junior Khaila Donaldson had seven kills to go along with a team-high 11 digs. Donaldson became the fourth Bison in program history to reach 1,000 career kills. She also represented Howard on the All-Tournament Team.
Sophomore Courtney Dalton put up six kills, while classmate Tamia Dockery notched 19 assists and seven digs. Junior Jessica Young and senior Whitney Fields finished with four kills apiece. At the net, senior Dominique Cleggett had three blocks.
The Bison hung tough to start the match with the score tied at 5. Donaldson added a pair of kills but the Nittany Lions pulled away to a 17-12 lead that forced Howard to call for time. PSU scored five straight points to send the Bison back to the bench before taking the set, 25-16.
Howard had a slight 6-5 edge to open the second set. PSU knotted the score before it went up 8-6 and the Bison used a timeout. The Nittany Lions went on a 17-6 run to win the set, 25-12.
A kill by junior Jessica Young brought the Bison within one, 9-8 in the third rally. Howard tied the set twice on a service ace by senior Katherine Broussard and kill from Donaldson. The Bison would only get as close as 12-11 before PSU took charge and ended the match.
HOWARD 2, RHODE ISLAND 3
Donaldson earned her sixth double-double on 17 kills and 13 digs along with three aces. Fields hit a team-best .400 after connecting on a season-high 12 kills on 20 swings. Dockery added 42 assists, Marlbourgh notched 19 digs. Broussard and junior Carlise Cardoza finished the night with 16 and 10 digs, respectively.
The Bison started the match with a 7-4 lead. The Rams quickly closed the gap to tie the score at 12 and locked the set four more times before getting a 19-18 edge. Young and Donaldson's kills helped the Bison to 24-21 upper hand, which sent URI to its bench. Back on the court, the Rams tallied back-to-back kills but Donaldson ended the set on a monster swing, 25-23.
Rhode Island jumped out to an 8-2 advantage for Howard to burn a timeout. The Rams kept the momentum going with an 8-18 lead and the Bison spent their second timeout. The Bison cut the lead to seven but could not get any closer and dropped the set, 25-16.
The two teams stayed relatively close to kick off the third set until an ace by Marlbrough put the Bison ahead 11-5. A kill by Fields and a pair of aces from Donaldson helped Howard to a comfortable 21-12 margin and a Rhode Island timeout. The squads traded errors, which brought the Rams within six, 22-16. URI looked to be on the right track after two straight kills but an attack error handed Howard the set, 25-18.
The Bison called the first timeout of the fourth set after URI doubled up on them, 14-7. The Rams continued their attack with a 7-4 run to clear the way. Broussard and Cleggett had the final two kills for the Bison and a blocking error ended the set in URI's favor, 25-16, to tie the match at 2-2.
The deciding set was all about the Rams, who powered ahead for a 10-3 lead. Howard tried to respond with kills by Fields and Donaldson but it lost the set, 15-8.
The Bison will open Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) action when it hosts UMES on Friday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. in Burr Gymnasium.
