HOWARD FALLS SHORT OF CONSECUTIVE TEAM WIN
By Jasmine King, Volleyball, Public Relations Major '13
NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ – Howard volleyball (1-9) falls short on another team victory versus host Rutgers (5-6) on Saturday afternoon.
Set scores in the match against the Scarlet Knights were 21-25, 20-25, 25-19, 13-25. Taking a set from RU gave the Lady Bison momentum, but it wasn't enough to capture the win.
All Tournament selection Tosin Elebute put down 10 balls for the team and picked up one dig shy of a double-double. Gabrielle Martin followed with nine kills, and Taylor Johnson chipped in with eight to finish the match. Stephanie Shultis dished out 19 assists and posted nine digs.
Brittany Bozzini put down 12 balls for Rutgers; Sofi Cucuz followed with 10. Setter Stephanie Zielinski recorded 36 assists for her team.
After a tough loss against the Scarlet Knights, the Lady Bison fought hard in battling the Binghamton Bearcats (6-6) later in the day.
HU took the Bearcats to five sets. Set scores for the match were 14-25, 25-11, 18-25, 25-22, 13-15. Howard, holding a 10-7 advantage at one point, couldn't find a way to close out the match.
Elebute recorded a double-double with 20 kills and 13 digs – contributing over 20 points for the team. Other offense was contributed by Martin, Johnson, and Shultis. Junior setter Jasmine King put up 23 assists and 8 digs for the team. Riana Cain finished with 16 defensive pick ups.
For the Bearcats, Iva Partaleva dropped 22 kills followed by Alex Roland for 12. Setter Amanda Dettmann finished with 41 assists and 6 digs.
"Overall, I was pleased with the team as a whole," said head coach Dawn Barnes. "We have a couple of weeks yet to get it together before conference play begins. That is when it really matters."
The Lady Bison are shifting their focus to next weekend when they head to Greensboro, NC to play in the UNC Greensboro Classic.