Arnold, MD – The Dragons put up a good fight against the #1 seed Butler County Pioneers, but ultimately fell in straight sets to the undefeated tournament favorites 25-9, 25-10, 25-16.
 
Howard came into the match on a winning streak of three straight and feeling confident, but the 13-0 Butler squad came out swinging hard. The Pioneers got out to a good beginning and closed the first set by winning nine of the final 10 points.
 
Butler County again jumped out to a big start in the second set with a seven point run to go up 10-2. Howard clawed back into the set with back to back kills by Mikaela Brewer (Gaithersburg, MD/Coventant Life) to cut the deficit to four, but an 8-0 run by the Pioneers ended the Dragons hopes of pulling a set back.
 
In the third set, the Dragons again showed grit as they won five straight points off the serving of Kayla Hendersot that included two aces to put Howard ahead 10-9. Butler answered immediately back by going on a 12-1 run that proved to be a back breaker to the Dragons. Howard won four straight to make one last push, but lost the third set and the match to end the season.
 
Hendershot, Brewer, and Lauren Harwood (Columbia, MD/Oakland Mills) all tied for the team lead with four kills each with Brewer picking up nine assists. Harwood chipped in on defense with two blocks and Eryca Sterling (Columbia, MD/Wilde Lake) picking up 20 digs in the match.
 
Howard finishes the season at 4-11 in a year where they played every single game on the road.