Columbia, MD - In one of the greatest games ever played at the Kahlert Foundation Complex, the Howard Community College Dragons defeated the Hagerstown Community College Hawks 3-2 in a thriller.
The Dragons fought from behind multiple times to take down the conference-leading Hawks, with another solid performance from
Zyon Austin and
Amelia Thomas helping them along. The win moves the Dragons to 10-3 on the season and in great position to avoid the play-in games come postseason time.
The Dragons snagged the first set 25-19 thanks to aggresive attacks from Austin and a pair of massive blocks by Thomas on Hagerstown's Addison Zeigler. Stopping Zeigler, who finished the night with an astounding 25 kills, was paramount for the Dragons. Thomas' stuffing block halfway through the opener set the tone for the contest.
Hagerstown roared back to take set two 25-17, opening a huge lead early and never looking back. Set three would be the highlight of the game, with neither team willing to lose. Incredible diving digs by
Kira King and
Abigail Nirola kept the Dragons in the contest and pushed the set to extra volleys. Back-to-back kills from Austin put the set away with a 28-26 Dragons win.
Howard's momentum from the set three win ended with a resounding 25-19 set four win for Hagerstown, setting up a winner-take-all set five. The Dragons took an early lead, but a Hagerstown rally gave them a 13-10 lead, two points away from a game win.
Toriana Curry's vicious kill started the comeback, and Austin continued it with another kill. Zeigler gave the Hawks game point with her final kill of the night, but back-to-back errors put Howard up 15-14 and forced another round of extra volleys. Curry's massive block of Hagerstown's Eden Shupp brought the Kahlert Foundation Complex to their feet as the Dragons completed the comeback.
The Dragons and Hawks were equal on 47 kills each, with Howard's seven aces to five and eleven blocks to three being the difference makers. Austin led the Dragons with 18 kills and 24 digs, while Thomas had ten kills and eight blocks.
Yusra Arenas had seven kills, two blocks, and ten digs, while
Diana Feria had six kills and eight digs. Curry added four kills, four aces, three blocks, and nine digs. King had 28 digs and two aces, while Nirola scored a career-high 43 assists and nine digs.
The Dragons next face Patrick Henry College on Thursday, October 1 at 6:00 PM.
