Box Score WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a match that lasted more than two hours but never reached the fifth set, Howard ultimately came away with a 3-1 victory over the Norfolk State volleyball team Friday night at Burr Gymnasium.

The Bison were all over the Spartans early in the match, winning the first set 25-14 before Norfolk State tied it up with an extra-point, 31-29 victory in the second set. The teams again went into extra points in the next set, and NSU led the lead slip away in a 30-28 loss.

The Bison improved their standing in the MEAC Northern Division with a 25-21 win in the fourth set. The win improved Howard's record to 3-1 in conference play and 14-6 overall. The Spartans dropped to 2-2, 6-13 overall.

The Spartans got plenty of production from their two seniors, Goda Jankauskaite and Coralie Jarema. Jankauskaite had a team-high 14 kills, while Jarema had 12 with zero attack errors on a .462 hitting percentage.

The Bison, though, had 22 more kills, including 17 and 15 from Dominique Cleggett and Assata Conway, respectively. Howard also played solid defense, posting a 71-50 advantage in digs over NSU.

The back and forth second set started off just as such, as the teams traded the 3-0 and 4-0 runs along with the lead. The Spartans were up by two at 9-7, but Howard scored back-to-back points six different times in between scores by NSU for a 20-15 lead.

A couple of service aces from junior Adriana Ramos forced Howard to call timeout, and the Bison did again after Jankauskaite and junior Jasmin Flowers had a block to give NSU a 23-22 lead. After Cleggett's kills put Howard up 25-24, NSU held off set point four different times, watched as Howard did once, and then finally put the Bison away with an attack error and a kill by Jankauskaite.

Howard took a 5-1 lead in the third, and eventually a few errors on NSU gave Howard a five-point lead, 12-7. Down 18-11, NSU made a valiant comeback, going on a 7-1 run and then a 4-0 spurt a little later to take the lead back, 22-21.

After Howard called timeout and Bison coach Shaun Kupferberg received a yellow card, Conway eventually gave them the lead back at 24-23. NSU again saved off set point four different times, including twice by kills from Jankauskaite, but a pair of errors on the Spartans at the end handed Howard a 2-1 lead in the match.

Howard won five in a row early in the fourth set, overcame an NSU rally and then eventually went up by four, 13-9. The Spartans cut the deficit to one several times, the last at 20-19 on a kill by Jarema, but could not get over the hump. Howard won four in a row after that point by Jarema to put Norfolk State in too big of a hole to climb out of.

Allyson Lods led all players with 20 digs and was one of four for Howard to reach double figures. Katherine Broussard added 19, and Stephanie Shultis totaled 51 assists and 10 digs.

Redshirt junior Noelle Eagles led NSU with 15 digs, while Flowers had a match-high six blocks. The Spartans out-blocked the Bison, 9.5-8.0.

NSU will return home to host Delaware State on Sunday at 3 p.m. at Joseph Echols Hall.