BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The Bison of Howard University fell in three sets to the Red Storm of Saint John’s University in the first round of the NIVC Tournament hosted by the Red Storm in Brooklyn, N.Y. 

MEAC Player of the Year Rya McKinnon led the Bison with 11 kills on the evening while Dami Awojobi added six kills of her own.  

After the teams tied the score at three all, the Bison went on a five-point run to take an 8-3 lead forcing a Red Storm timeout. A kill from Amanda Ifeanyichukwu put Howard ahead by six points, 12-6, and the Bison held on to their lead late into the set but the Red Storm came back to knot the score at 18 all. The score tied once more before Howard pull ahead on three two-point leads, 21-19, 23-21, and 24-22, before the score evened up at 25 all. The Bison took at 26-25 lead on a kill from Cimone Woodard but three Howard attack errors closed out the set for the Red Storm to claim the 28-26 win.  

St. John’s opened the second set on a 4-1 run before Howard came back on a 5-1 rally taking the 6-5 lead. The Red Storm answered with a nine-oh streak that made the Bison use both timeouts to regroup as St. John’s took a 14-6 lead. A kill by Awojobi stopped the SJU run and saw Howard go on a 6-4 run capped off by three consecutive kills, two from Awojobi and one from McKinnon, to pull within six points, 18-12, as St. John’s called their first timeout. The Bison continued to press on as they held the Red Storm at set point for five additional plays driving the score up to 24-21 before St. John’s put down a final kill to take set two, 25-21.  

The teams battled back and forth through the early parts of the third set as the score tied four times, the last at five-all, before St. John’s began to pull away. The Red Storm went up 14-8 after a 9-3 run that included four Bison errors, three service aces, and a pair of kills. Three consecutive errors from St. John’s put Howard within three points, 14-11, causing SJU to call a timeout. Following the break in the action, the Red Storm closed out the set on an 11-3 rally to defeat the Bison 25-14 and 3-0 in the match.  

Howard’s season ends with an overall record of 17-15 and an 11-3 mark in MEAC action.