WASHINGTON (DC News Now) – The Howard volleyball team is poised to make history in the upcoming Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) tournament. With 13 titles already, the Bison aim to add another championship and solidify their place as the most successful program in conference history.
“We want to take that championship home. So that’s what all of our goals are. That’s our focus,” said outside hitter, Rya McKinnon. “Everyone plays their best against us. So I feel like that really pushes us and just makes us better.” This mindset has fueled the Bison’s dominant performance all season long, leading them to enter the MEAC tournament as the undefeated top seed.
However, perhaps what is most impressive is that the Bison maintained their undefeated record without dropping a single set for most of the season. It was not until their second-to-last conference match that Coppin State stole two sets from the Bison. Howard still beat them 3-2.
In 12 straight conference matches, the Bison never lost a single set.
“It felt really good,” said setter Leah Reeves. “Seeing it on the court and seeing all the results, all of the time, and the effort, the six AM (practices), the workouts.”
“We put in a lot of extra time,” added libero Claire Simpson. “A lot of focus, especially in the spring season, so it really just is a reflection of our hard work and how well we work as a team.”
Head coach Shaun Kupferberg, who has seen plenty of success at Howard, has never been a part of a team that accomplished what the Bison did this year.
“As a coach, it’s really hard to keep that maintenance level,” said Kupferberg. “A key component to this year was going to be, can we be consistent? So that sort of shows itself in winning set after set after set all the way through the year. We’ve been in some sticky situations, and they’ve been able to work as a team to get out of those situations, and I am really proud of them for that and the hard work they put in.”
The Bison will head to Dover, Delaware to compete in the MEAC tournament. Howard’s first match is set for Friday at 11:30 am against 8-seed South Carolina State.
