Butler, PA - On a packed day of postseason volleyball, the Dragons lost in the tournament semifinals to #1 seeded Butler County, but rebounded to defeat Anne Arundel 3-0 in the consolation match to earn a place in the NJCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic District Tournament. 

In the morning match, Howard faced a Butler County team that came in with a 16-3 record and seemed a hard nut to crack. The Dragons had the Pioneers sweating in the first set as Howard was ahead late before giving away the final few points to give Butler the set. After that the Pioneers settled in and were able to use the momentum to beat Howard in straight sets.

Sabrina Lagomarsino (Clarksville, MD/Atholton) had five aces and 17 assists, 11 of which came from Kira Thompson (Elkridge, MD/Atholton) who also had a couple of aces. Natalie Hosseini (Ellicott City, MD/Mt. Hebron) scored nine kills and a block and was one of three Howard players with double digit digs including Yi Su Arief (Ellicott City, MD/Centennial) with 15 along with Hosseini and Lagomarsino with 14 and 13 respectively. 

The Dragons had to wait a few hours for their next match as they were set to face Anne Arundel in the consolation match with the winner earning a place in the district tournament. Despite losing to Anne Arundel twice in four sets during the regular season, Howard came out fired up and was able to sweep away the Riverhawks.

Hosseini led the way with 12 kills and two blocks with Thompson adding 11 kills. Lagomarsino hit five kills and assisted on 21 others while Arief once again performed her libero duties admirably with 13 digs. 

The Dragons will next travel to Sandhills Community College in Pinehurst, North Carolina where they will participate in the district tournament that includes members from Region 10, 12, and 20. Day one of the tournament will see Howard play the Region 12 runner-up Columbus State first on Friday, November 1 at 9 AM followed immediately by a match against host Sandhills as the Region 10 winner at 11 AM as part of a three team group. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals on November 2.