Dover, Del. (Sep. 24) --- The Delaware State volleyball team tied a school record with its ninth straight win, topping Howard 3-1 this evening in the MEAC opener for both clubs in Memorial Hall this evening. The scores were 26-24, 25-16, 14-25 and 25-19.
The win streak ties the mark set by the Hornets' 1986 MEAC championship squad.
DSU's Alondra Maldonado led all players with 15 kills on 29 attacks (.448), while Valeria Otero tallied 14 kills and was second in the match with 17 digs, tying for second best in her career.
Malgorzata Andersohn turned in another solid all-around performance with a match-high 27 assists, to go along with 12 digs.
Jasmal Cruz led the Hornets' defensive effort with a season-high 20 digs in the match.
Delaware State is now 13-1 overall this season (.929), the best start after 14 matches in team history. The Hornets were tied for the 11^th best win-loss percentage among all NCAA Division I teams entering the tonight's contest.
The Hornets were a point away from defeat in the first set, trailing 24-22 after a kill by Howard's Cimone Woodard, but the Bison committed four consecutive errors to suffer the loss.
Delaware State took control early in the second set, scoring of the first seven points. The Hornets opened up a 19-11 lead on another error by the Bison. DSU posted a .455 attack percentage in the second set, recording 19 kills and just four errors in 33 attempts.
Howard stayed alive in the match with a strong performance in set three, tallying 13 kills and just one error on 21 attacks (.571).
The set three loss was just the seventh this season for the Hornets, who have won 40 sets in their 14 matches.
Delaware State trailed 6-4 in the fourth set, but scored 12 of the next 15 points to open up a 16-10 lead. Howard pulled to within 19-17 in set four, but the Hornets scored the next three points to stop the Bison rally.
DSU recorded a .239 hitting percentage in the contest, collecting 56 kills and 22 errors on 142 attacks. Howard had 47 kills and 21 errors on 143 attempts for a .182 percentage.
The Hornets held a 69-53 advantage in digs.
Delaware State will seek to set the team record for consecutive wins on Sunday (Sep. 26) at Norfolk State in a MEAC contest. Start time is set for 1:00 p.m. in Norfolk, Va.