Westminster, MD - The Howard Community College Dragons' women's volleyball team put together an excellent performance last Wednesday night, taking down the Carroll Community College Lynx 3-1 on the road.
The Dragons rode a balanced attack and several season-best performances to their third-straight win to open the season.
Howard dominated the first set, taking a 25-14 win. The highlight of the set, as well as the game, came when
Zyon Austin made a diving dig, then sprinted the length of the floor to save an errant set. Austin's save took the Lynx by surprise and gave the Dragons a thrilling kill, one of eight in the first set.
Set two started with a 4-0 Carroll run, and the Lynx never looked back. While Howard was able to claw their way back, the Dragons came up short due to fewer kills and defensive mistakes. HCC responded with a dominant 25-12 win in set three, aided by excellent blocking up front from
Toriana Curry and
Amelia Thomas.
Set four saw the Dragons pull ahead early, aided by four straight aces from
Kira King. A Carroll rally got the Lynx back into action, but after a well-timed timeout from head coach
Jailyn Ivey, the Dragons roared back. Austin's clutch kill late in the set, the 13th of the set, gave the Dragons match point, and a Carroll attack error on the next volley gave the game to Howard.
Austin put together a career performance, finishing the game with eight kills, two assists, four blocks, and 23 digs.
Yusra Arenas added eight kills of her own from the right side, along with two blocks and three digs.
Emma Nguyen had her breakout game, leading the Dragons in total attacks with 32 and recording seven kills. She also produced two aces, four blocks, and 12 digs. Thomas scored four kills and seven blocks in the middle, while Curry added four kills, nine blocks, and four digs.
Vivian Gonzalez had a breakout game with three kills, three blocks, and four digs.
Defensively,
Kira King dominated in the back with 36 digs and three assists. She also scored five aces in the final set alone.
Abigail Nirola led the Dragons in assists with 15, while also producing three aces and five digs.
Diana Feria completed the Dragons fantastic evening with 12 assists and 12 digs.
Next up for the Dragons is a tri-match against the Community College of Beaver County and the College of Southern Maryland on Saturday, September 12 at 10:00 AM.
