DOVER, Del. – The Bowie State University women's volleyball team found themselves locked in a battle to open the 2021 campaign on Tuesday against Division I Delaware State University but was unable to find a way past the Hornets on the road. The Bulldogs suffered setbacks in three straight sets, 25-12, 25-8 and 25-14.

The loss dips the Bulldogs to 0-1 on the young season while DSU improves to 6-1 on the year.

Although BSU was unable to find their offensive groove early on, the Bulldogs kept the contest interesting for most of the match. The Bulldogs ended the evening with a -.146 hitting percentage and total of eight kills while DSU owned a hitting percentage of .329 and 38 kills.

Junior and outside hitter Noel Snow (Mount Airy, MD) and graduate student and middle/right side Christiana DuBose (Bowie, MD) both registered three kills apiece on offense while sophomore and defensive specialist Neysha Washington (Winchester, VA) collected a team-high 12 digs.

The Bulldogs pushed the brink in the opening set, BSU pulled within four (15-11) after a service from DuBose but the Hornets scored six straight in route to the first set win.

DSU took a 10-0 lead to begin the second stanza and from there the Bulldogs were never able to recover, scoring only eight points in the set.

Bowie State went back-and-forth with Delaware State in the final set of the evening, but some hot hitting and a pair of early runs from the Hornets made the difference, as BSU was unable to keep pace with its buzzing foe.  

The Bulldogs will return to action on Thursday, Sept. 9 with a home contest against Goldey-Beacom. First serve is slated for 6 p.m. from A.C. Jordan Arena.

For the most up-to-date information on Bowie State University Athletics and its 13 varsity sports teams, please visit www.bsubulldogs.com.