DELAWARE STATE WINS 2024 MEAC VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
DOVER, Del. – The No. 3 Delaware State University Hornets upset the No. 1 Howard University Bison in a thrilling five-set match to win the 2024 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Championship. The championship title is the second for the Hornets in the last three seasons as DSU won the trophy in 2022.
The Hornets earn the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament which begins with the opening round on Dec. 5. DSU will learn their future on Selection Sunday, Dec. 1, at 6 p.m. ET, airing on ESPN.
Valeria Otero (18) and Gerren Tomlin (17) led the Delaware State attack with a combined 35 kills. Aaliyah Mitchell and Alondra Maldonado contributed 14 and 12 kills respectively to join their teammates in double digits.
Tomlin and Otero each registered double-doubles with 20 and 12 digs respectively. Setters Naz Tuncay (32) and Paige Ahakuelo (31) tallied 63 assists between the pair, while the back line was led by Morgan Allen with 22 digs.
The first set was as electric as the crowd in Memorial Hall Gymnasium as the Hornets edged past the Bison for a 26-24 finish. Following the media timeout as the score reached 15-14 with Howard leading, neither team gained more than a two-point advantage over the other until the end. Delaware State’s Aaliyah Mitchell scored on back-to-back plays putting down a kill and blocking a Howard attack for the win.
Set two saw the Hornets take an early 9-4 lead that was capped by a pair of kills, one each from Mitchell and Tomlin. The Bison battled back to knot the score at 12 all which began a back-and-forth rally where the teams tied the score four more times. Following a draw at 18-all, Howard pulled ahead 22-19 forcing a Delaware State timeout. The Bison held off the rallying Hornets to win set two 25-22.
Howard led early in set three taking a 9-6 lead following a Delaware State service error. DSU went on an 11-1 rally taking a 17-10 lead and forcing HU to use both of their timeouts to strategize. The Bison responded with a 7-2 run pulling within two points, 19-17. Following a Hornet timeout to refocus, Delaware State closed out the set on a 6-3 run winning the third set 25-20.
The fourth set was a marathon between the teams as neither led by more than two-points throughout the majority of the set. After the fourteenth tie of the set at 17 all, the Hornets pulled ahead by three, 20-17, sending the teams into a timeout. Howard came back to tie the score at 20 all before Delaware State took a two-point lead, 23-21. The Bison regrouped during a timeout as Howard went on a four-point run to win set four, 25-23.
The fifth set opened with the teams tying the score at 3-3 before Delaware State went on a 9-2 rally following two kills from Gerren Tomlin. Howard added two more kills to their total before the Hornets closed the match on a 3-0 run to win the final set 15-7.
Howard had four players in double figures for kills in Rya McKinnon (18), Cimone Woodard (16), Dami Awojobi (16) and Aziah Buckner (11). MEAC Setter of the Year, Leah Reeves, amassed an impressive 61 assists throughout the five sets while libero Claire Simpson paced the backline with 21 digs. Awojobi and Buckner each registered double-doubles with 14 and 10 digs respectively.
Outstanding Coach – David Brooks, Delaware State
Outstanding Player – Gerren Tomlin, Delaware State
2024 MEAC Volleyball All-Tournament Team
- TaKenya Stafford, Coppin State
- Daniela Ferreira, Morgan State
- Kiyah Felder, South Carolina State
- Ranyla Griggs, Maryland Eastern Shore
- Cimone Woodard, Howard
- Rya McKinnon, Howard
- Gerren Tomlin, Delaware State
