Justin Howard Powers OSU Volleyball

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor 

Pacific Palisades native and former Palisades Charter High School standout Justin Howard is off to a fast start for the Ohio State men’s volleyball squad.

On January 9, the Buckeyes’ 6-foot-6 redshirt senior middle blocker was selected the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Defensive Player of the Week—the first of the 2024 season—by the league office.

Howard was deserving of the recognition after pacing the fourth-ranked Buckeyes with nine blocks in the team’s first two matches: victories over North Greenville and Daemen College in Columbus.

Since then, Ohio State has picked up two more home wins, beating St. Francis in four sets and UC San Diego in five sets. Through four matches, Howard has recorded 32 kills and 13 blocks.

The son of David and Nicole Howard, Justin won three City titles at Pali High, and he captained both the Dolphins and his Pac6 Volleyball Club squad to championships in 2019. He also led Pac6 VC to a third-place finish in the 2018 Junior Nationals.

Howard powered the Southern California Volleyball Association to its first USAV High Performance national title in 2018, delivering the match-winning ace to clinch his team’s five-set semifinal victory. His brother, Spencer, was a forward on the Northwestern University men’s soccer team, and his uncle, Carl Borack, was a fencer in the Summer Olympics in 1972 in Munich.

A journalism major, Howard was the 2023 recipient of the Ken Dunlap Award, an annual honor that is given to a player who exhibits the character of the program’s very first men’s volleyball coach Ken Dunlap (1968-71) after whom the award is named. Howard was the third winner and was chosen by the coaches, players and support staff last fall.

A three-time MIVA Academic All-Conference and OSU Scholar Athlete honoree, Howard played in 31 matches and 114 sets as a redshirt junior last season, setting career highs in kills (142), assists (11), digs (44), total blocks (87) and points (190).

As a redshirt sophomore in 2022 he missed most of the season due to injury, but hit .361 with 40 kills in 10 matches. In 2021 he saw action in 40 sets, hitting .436 with 32 kills on 61 swings while recording 31 blocks. He practiced with the team in 2020 as a redshirt.

Ohio State takes on No. 1 UCLA (a roster that includes Palisadians Cooper Robinson and Spencer Graves) and No. 13 USC (led by Palisadian Dillon Klein) this weekend in the First Point Federation Cup Austin, Texas.