TOWSON, Md. - The Tigers dropped a tough 3-2 decision to the University of Pennsylvania in their opening match of the Towson Invitational on Friday evening. The Tigers (7-5) got a career-high 11 blocks from Shelynne Hoyt along with "double-doubles" from three players.

"I thought statistically we played really well tonight," said Coach Paul Koncir. "We had moments of inconsistency here and there that cost us in the end but our play at the net was huge and Penn's a good team, hopefully we can build on this for tomorrow."

Towson jumped out to an early lead with a 25-22 win in the first set. Penn held the Tigers to just a .029 hitting percentage in the second set and evened the match with a 25-18 win. The Quakers extended their lead with a 25-22 win in the third set. The fourth set was a tough battle between the two schools that featured seven ties and four lead changes before Towson claimed a 26-24 win. Penn claimed the victory in the match with a 15-13 win in the fifth and final set.

Amanda Halls was one of three players with a "double-double" in the match as she finished with 10 kills, 13 digs and five blocked shots. Britney Loomis contributed 13 kills and 11 digs while Katee Luecke had 27 assists, 10 digs and four block assists. Taylor Hawkins posted 10 kills and eight blocks while Hoyt added seven kills and three digs. Missy Rohrbaugh posted a team-high 25 digs on the night. The Tigers as a team posted a season-high 18 blocks, which is just one shy of the school record for a single-match..

Elizabeth Semmens led Penn with 20 kills and 10 digs while Megan Tryon had 51 assists and 14 digs. Madi Wojciechowski finished with a match-high 31 digs on the night.

The Tigers return to action on day two of the Towson Invitational Saturday, September 19. Towson will face Ball State at 10 a.m. and George Washington at 3 p.m.

-- TIGERS --