North East, MD - In the regular season finale, the Howard CC Dragons won an instant classic five-set thriller over the Cecil College Seahawks to secure their third straight victory.

The first set was a back and forth battle as the Dragons jumped out to a 10-5 lead before Cecil won six straight points to take the lead. With Cecil on set point at 24-22, the Dragons won three straight, but then proceeded to lose three straight points to give Cecil the 27-25 first set win.

The two teams again exchanged body blows in the second set before a huge run for the Dragons led to a 25-15 win to tie the match at 1-1. The Dragons would again close out hard thanks to a six point run to win the third set 25-17.

Another tight set proceeded as the fourth set saw neither team lead by more than three points at any time. With Howard ahead 22-21, Cecil would win five of the last six points to force a deciding fifth set.

In the final set, Howard jumped all over the Seahawks early as they led 11-4 before Cecil called their final timeout of the match. The tactic worked as Cecil fought all the way back to have match point at 14-13. After a misplay by the Cecil setter allowed the Dragons to knot things up, Lauren Harwood (Columbia, MD/Oakland Mills) slammed down a kill to take the lead before Mikaela Brewer (Gaithersburg, MD/Coventant Life) served up an ace to win the set 16-14 and the match 3-2.

Kayla Hendershot (Columbia, MD/Hammond) was the focal point on offense with 21 kills while Harwood chipped in six and Samantha Matney (Elkridge, MD/Howard) added four. Brewer finished with eight aces to go along with her 32 assists and nine digs. On defense, Eryca Sterling (Columbia, MD/Wilde Lake) scooped up 29 digs with Hendershot adding 17 and Matney with 11. Harwood blocked a season high four (three solo, two assists) while Hendershot added two.

The Dragons will head into the postseason with positive momentum as they prepare to face Butler County in the Region 20 Division III tournament. The semifinal match will take place at Anne Arundel Community College on Saturday, October 23 at 12 PM. The two teams met in the regular season with the Dragons falling to the Grizzlies in straight sets.