Columbia, MD - The Howard Community College Dragons swept their home tri-match on Saturday, recording 3-0 sweeps of Anne Arundel Community College and #13 Butler County Community College.
Howard's upset win over Butler County was the highlight of the day, as the Dragons swept the #13 Division III school in the country. The Dragons dominated the Pioneers in all statistical categories, locking down their first win over Butler County since 2017.
Howard stayed close with the Pioneers throughout the first set, yo-yo-ing the lead before finally pulling away to win 25-23. Set two saw the Pioneers jump out to a six-point lead halfway through the set, only for the Dragons to roar back to win 25-21. Set three saw Howard dominate, winning 25-18 while leading by as much as nine points over Butler County.
The second contest against the Riverhawks of Anne Arundel Community College was a tale of deja vu. All three sets started with Anne Arundel opening an early lead, only for the Dragons to take the lead and pull away. Howard easily took down AACC 25-16 and 25-15 in the first two sets, then came from another six-point deficit to win set three 25-20 to wrap up the contest. With back-to-back sweeps, the Dragons move to 9-3 on the season and 7-2 in conference play.
Zyon Austin led the Dragons statistically in game one with eleven kills and 22 digs.
Yusra Arenas recorded eight kills and eight digs, while
Amelia Thomas had a breakout game with seven kills and five blocks.
Abigail Nirola recorded 28 assists and two aces, while
Kira King added 16 digs and two aces.
Diana Feria added eleven digs on defense.
Game two saw Austin lead the Dragons again with 12 kills, four aces, and 13 digs. Arenas added nine kills, while Thomas had five kills, three aces, and four blocks. Nirola scored 30 assists, eight digs, and three aces,
Toriana Curry added four kills and six blocks, and
Kira King added 15 digs.
The Dragons next face Hagerstown Community College on Tuesday, September 29 at 7:00 PM.
