Columbia, MD - The Howard Community College Dragons suffered their second-straight loss at home on Thursday night, falling 3-0 to the Frederick Community College Cougars.
Howard struggled to keep up with a fast and hard-hitting Frederick squad throughout the evening. The loss dropped the Dragons to 5-2 on the season, while Frederick moved to 5-1.
The Cougars jumped out to an early 9-0 lead in the first set and never looked back. While Howard managed to get back within three points, the Dragons struggled to keep pace with Frederick's fierce attacks. The Cougars racked up 12 kills in the first set en route to a 25-13 win.
Set two saw the two teams trade service errors to begin the contest, with Howard able to keep pace a bit better. Errors from Howard's attackers ended up being the difference, as Frederick held off a late Dragons rally to win 25-16.
Set three was a repeat of the second, with Howard keeping pace at first only to fall behind the Cougars attacks. The Dragons outside hitters managed to record nine kills in the set, but Frederick would hold on to win 25-16 with 14 kills.
Zyon Austin led the Dragons offense with ten kills.
Yusra Arenas added five kills, while
Toriana Curry had three.
Abigail Nirola recorded 21 assists and two aces for the Dragons. On defense,
Kira King led the way with eight digs, while Ameila Thomas recorded five blocks.
Next up for the Dragons is a showdown with Chesapeake College on Saturday, September 19 at 11:00 AM.
