North East, MD - The Howard Community College women's volleyball team fell 3-0 (25-16, 25-9, 25-29) to Region 20 tri-match host, Cecil College, and also took a tough 3-0 ()loss to Region 20 opponent Allegany College in North East, MD
Game 1 | Howard 0, Cecil 3
Dragons able to open up scoring during set one, with a service ace from Cheyenne Ellis (Eldersburg, MD/Century). Howard continued to keep the Seahawks within their grasp, but a number of ball handling errors resulted in a eight-point deficit in favor of Cecil. A kill from Ariana Beasley (Columbia, MD/Long Reach) gives the Dragons back possession, but Cecil able to take back control after a kill of their own. An error from the Howard offense gave Cecil the game point, winning the set 25-16.
Howard fell in set two, 25-9 after trailing by as many as 10 points. A tough offense from the Seahawks spelled disaster for the Dragons, after back-to-back kills, where Cecil was able to grab advantage for good.
Howard looked to take back the momentum during the third set, with a 10-7 lead, but the Seahawks responded on offense to tie the match. Smart decisions on both sides of the court, allowed the Dragons to stay within range, for a tied game once more at 16-16. But Cecil comes alive once more to push back just enough to take a 6-point lead over Howard. Dragons did their best to fight back for each point, but were unable to keep possession. Cecil ultimately claimed the third set 25-19.
Game 2 | Howard 0, Allegany 3
Allegany College jumped out to an early lead over the Dragons during set 1, and never looked back taking the set 25-9.
During the second, Allegany jumped out to an 11-1 lead over Howard. The Dragons eventually began to push back against the Trojans, decreasing the deficit to four at 16-12. Two attack errors from the Trojans brought the Dragons within three, allowing them to keep possession. But, Allegany eventually cleaned things up on offense, for an 8-point scoring run to take the set 25-14.
At the start of the third, Ellis opened up the set with a service ace, but Allegany once more looked to take control early with six-point scoring run. The Trojans continued to widen the gap, and kept Howard behind by at least ten points. Howard didn't give up so easily, returning the pressure on offense with kills from Abigail Leis (Ellicott City, MD/Mt. Hebron) and Micaela Murray (Columbia, MD/Oakland Mills), and capitalizing on Allegany offensive. The Dragons continued to close in on the Trojans making it a four point game at 22-18. A service ace and a kill gave Allegany set point for the the third set. Howard able to get one more offensive play out against the Trojans, but ultimately fall in the third set 25-19.
A hard fought loss against both Cecil and Allegany, but Howard completes the weekend 0-2, and moves to 2-9 on the season.
Howard will stay home this weekend to host their final games of the season, on Saturday, October 12th for Sophomore Night. The Dragons will take on the Panthers of Baltimore County Community College at 11am, and the Lakers of Garrett College at 3PM.
