Bel Air, MD - In a dominant display on opening night, the Howard Community College Dragons began their season with a 3-0 sweep of the Harford Community College Fighting Owls.
Following an impressive preseason slate, the Dragons took care of business in their Region 20 opener. Returners
Zyon Austin and
Toriana Curry shined, while newcomers
Abigail Nirola,
Kira King, and
Emma Nguyen put in great debut performances. The win marks the first opening night win for Dragons head coach
Jailyn Ivey.
The Dragons came from behind in set one to win 25-22, thanks to solid blocking in the middle from freshman
Amelia Thomas.
Yusra Arenas came in clutch, forcing several crucial kills to pull the Dragons even with Harford. Nguyen's streak of aces to close the set gave Howard a 1-0 lead after one.
Set two belonged to Austin, who took control to give Howard a commanding 25-18 win. Up 2-0, the Dragons then came from behind again to win set three 25-22. Curry's clutch kill late in the set iced the contest for the Dragons, who capitalized on Fighting Owl errors to come from behind once again.
Arenas led the Dragons with eight kills and three digs. Austin had six kills, seven digs, and two aces, while Curry added two kills, five blocks, and four digs. Defensively, the Dragons were led by Nirola's 14 assists and five digs, while King added 13 digs and four aces. Nguyen finished with seven digs and three aces on debut.
Next up for the Dragons will be a showdown with Harrisburg Area Community College on Wednesday, September 2 at 6:00 PM.
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