NORFOLK, Va. – Howard rode a dominating first set to a 3-0 sweep of the Norfolk State volleyball team in a rare mid-week MEAC matchup on Wednesday night in Gill Gymnasium.
 
The Bison hit .302 for the contest and held the Spartans to an even .000 attack percentage to win 25-9, 25-18 and 25-17. Howard improved to 11-0 in conference play and 22-5 overall. NSU dropped to 4-6 in the MEAC and 6-18 overall in a contest that was rescheduled from earlier in the year due to Hurricane Matthew.
 
Khaila Donaldson, the MEAC's leading hitter, led the way with 15 kills for Howard. Teammate Jessica Young added 12 kills on a .647 attack percentage to form a strong 1-2 tandem on the night.
 
NSU only had 18 kills compared to 44 for the Bison. Senior Jessica Johnson had a team-high six for the Spartans.
 
Howard closed out the first set on a 20-4 run to turn what had been a 5-5 tie into a 16-point victory. Freshman Jill Aquino gave the Spartans an early 4-3 lead in the second set thanks to a service ace, but NSU was assessed a red card a few points later and then slowly began to slide. Tied at 9-9, the Bison slowly pulled ahead by five before ultimately winning by seven.
 
NSU had some momentum early in the third set thanks in part to a couple of blocks during a 4-0 run. That put the Spartans up 7-6, although they quickly fell behind right after that. NSU was still only down by two until Howard won four straight for a six-point lead. Sophomore Lexi Brown had a kill, NSU's third straight point, to get the Spartans to within three at 18-15. The Bison, though, won seven of the last nine points to close out the match.
 
Senior Sydney Dailey added five kills and tied her career high from the prior match, also against Howard, with four blocks. NSU outblocked the Bison 6-3.
 
Howard, though, had a 43-32 edge in digs in addition to their big advantage on the attack.
 
NSU will play its last regular season road game this year when the Spartans play at Maryland Eastern Shore this Friday.