TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Sept. 29) – The FAMU Women's Volleyball team pushed defending MEAC champions Howard University nearly to the brink before dropping a bitter four-set decision to the visiting Bison, 3-1 (25-22, 11-25, 16-25, 23-25) Sunday afternoon at the Al Lawson Center.

FAMU (3-11, 1-1 MEAC) won the opening set, 25-22, and appeared poised to stun the four-time defending champs, after holding off a late Bison surge to snare the first stanza.

But Howard (5-10, 2-0 MEAC) evened the match with a 25-11 win in the second set, then pulled away with another closing flurry to take the third stanza, 25-16.

In the final two sets, FAMU and Howard changed leads or rallied to tie the scores several times, playing Sunday's bout with the intensity of a championship bout.

The fourth set went toe-to-toe, tied at 15, at 20 and 22, before the Bison took advantage of Rattler miscues to edge their way to a 25-23 win in the clincher.

Maria Yvett Garcia led FAMU with 11 kills, followed by Elena Dimitrova with 10 kills. Alexis Gosha added seven kills and a team high 11 digs. Ilayda Nurkan dished out a team high 18 assists, followed by Dimitrova with 10 assists.

WHAT'S ON TAP: The Rattlers will embark on a three-match road swing beginning next Saturday at Presbyterian (S.C.) College at 4:00 p.m.

Next Sunday, October 6, FAMU returns to MEAC play at South Carolina State at 1:00 p.m., winding down the tour at Bethune-Cookman on Tuesday, October 8 at 6:00 p.m.

FAMU will return to the Lawson Center for a MEAC Weekend two-step, Friday, October 11, against North Carolina Central (7:00), and Sunday, October 13, against North Carolina A&T (1:00).

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