Fighting Owls Women’s Volleyball Team Falls To Howard

From HCC’s Sports Desk…

BEL AIR, Md.—The Harford women’s volleyball team fell to Howard in straight sets, 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-23), on Tuesday night at Harford Gymnaisum.

The Fighting Owls (4-7, 2-4 MDJUCO) hit .151 for the match, outplaying the Dragons’ (9-7, 5-1 MDJUCO) hitting percentage of .133, but totaled just two less attack errors than Howard, despite having almost 20 less total attempts.

Sophomore Claire Sheldon (Havre de Grace, Md./Havre de Grace) led the Owl offense with a .300 hitting percentage and came just one kill away from a double-double with nine kills on 20 attempts with just three errors and 13 digs. Sophomore Brielle Webster took on the setting duties for the owls, tallying 19 assists in addition to three kills, while Kristina Johnson was just two digs away from a double-double for Howard with 19 assists and eight digs.

Game one saw Harford take an early, 6-3 lead, but a four-point run by the Dragons gave Howard the 7-6 lead, which they would not relinquish for the rest of the set. The Owls knotted the score at 11 points apiece, but would come no closer as the Dragons built off two consecutive four-point runs to take a 19-12 lead and put the set out of reach on the way to the 25-19 decision.

The second set saw the Dragons take the early lead, but a Dragon attack error tied the score at 13 points each and a four-point run behind freshman Selena Ortega-Marvel’s (Elkton, Md./Rising Sun) serve put Harford up, 17-13.

After a Dragon timeout, Harford would sideout just twice more as Howard rolled to the 25-19 set point.

Set three saw Howard take a 3-0 lead, but the Owls would knot the score at nine and take an 11-9 lead after two consecutive aces from Sheldon. Howard would take the lead back after a Harford block error and Dragon ace to make the score 13-12 and though Harford would tie five more times at 13, 15, 16, 18, and 19 points, the Dragons pulled out the final set and match point 25-23.

The Fighting Owls return to action on Thursday when they host Baltimore City at 5:00 p.m. in their second straight home match at Harford Gymnasium.

Short Box Score (Match)
2008 Harford Volleyball
Howard vs Harford (Sep 30, 2008 at Bel Air, Md.)
Howard def. Harford 25-19,25-19,25-23
Howard (9-7, 5-1 MDJUCO) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Penn, Sherri 9-2-0;
Brostrom, Julia 7-3-0; Morrison, Laura 5-1-0; Cook, Brandi 4-0-0;
Johnson, Kristina 3-2-0; Pecore, Allison 2-3-0; Aguilar, Priscilla
0-2-0; Totals 30-13-0.0. (Assists) – Johnson, Kristina 19. (Dig
leaders) – Johnson, Kristina 8; Penn, Sherri 7
Harford (4-7, 2-4 MDJUCO) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Sheldon, Claire 9-2-0;
Gilhooly, Lindsey 8-0-0; Ortega-Marvel, Selen 3-1-0; Webster, Brielle
3-0-0; Sullivan, Kelsey 2-0-0; Bizzell, Erica 1-0-0; Kaszak, Brittany
1-0-0; Totals 27-3-0.0. (Assists) – Webster, Brielle 19. (Dig leaders)
– Sheldon, Claire 13; Gilhooly, Lindsey 10; Werneke, Audrey 9
Site: Bel Air, Md. (Harford Gym)
Date: Sep 30, 2008 Attend: 57 Time: 1:10
Referees: Bill Kearney, Brenda Kirk