Howard Falls Short in Matches at WVU Classic
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The Howard University women's volleyball team is still looking for its first win of the young season after dropping matches, 3-0 to the University of Buffalo and Akron University in the West Virginia Classic at the University of West Virginia.
In the match against Buffalo (2-1), Dana Musil led the Bulls as she recorded 11 kills en route to a 25-14, 25-12, 25-19 advantage in the three sets. The Lady Bison were led by junior Tosin Elebute who tallied 8 kills and 6 digs. Nicole Brown added 8 digs while Taylor Johnson finished with 6 kills.
In the finale against Akron (2-0), Jarvis Courtney paced her team with 19 kills and 8 digs as the Zips took the three sets, 25-10, 25-22, 25-18. The Lady Bison (0-3) were paced by Tosin Elebute's 4 kills and 6 digs and Nicole Brown and Monique McCoy who contributed 8 and 7 digs, respectively.
Despite the losses, Howard first year coach Dawn Barnes, says there were some positives.
"I thought we finally began to play well in the match against Akron," said Barnes. "We lost in three, but things finally started to come around for us. I thought that Tosin really played well throughout the tournament as did Jiyana Brown and Gabrielle Martin. But overall, it was a team effort."
Howard returns to action on Wednesday when it hosts Lafayette in the 2010 home opener at 7 pm in Burr Gymnasium.
"It was good to get these games in because we had some good moments and at times, we struggled," noted Barnes. "But we have a home game and if we build on our performance in the last match, we are going to be a very solid team."
On a down note, Gazelle d'Artois injured her ankle after someone landed on it early in the match and ended up on crutches. d'Artois is the pre-season MEAC Player of the Year.