WILMINGTON, N.C. - UNC Wilmington battled from behind to claim a 3-2 win over the Tigers on Friday evening. Towson (12-7, 0-2 CAA) got a season-high 21 digs from Lauren Tonokawa in her return from injury.
In the first set with the score tied at 14-14, an error by the Tigers gave the Seahawks a 15-14 lead and the home team would not relinquish that advantage. UNC Wilmington took the first set by a 25-19 advantage. In the second set, a kill by Amanda Halls gave the Tigers a 5-3 advantage. A couple of kills by Shelynne Hoyt would extend the Tiger advantage to 15-12. Towson would eventually take the second set by a 25-19 mark.
Towson and UNC Wilmington would battle through eight ties and three lead changes in the third set. Britney Loomis came off the bench to record seven kills in the set and lead the Tigers to a 25-22 win and a 2-1 advantage in the match. The Seahawks hit .220 in the fourth set and got six kills from Emily Mohrman to earn a 27-25 win. That win forced the match to a fifth and final set.
UNC Wilmington held the Tigers to a .000 hitting percentage in the fifth set and behind three kills from Mohrman earned a 15-12 win and the match.
Halls led the Tigers with her fourth straight "double-double" and fifth of the season. She recorded a season-high 15 kills to go along with 16 digs and two service aces. Evan Schulz just missed a "double-double" after recording a career-high 56 assists and nine digs. She would also add five block assists in the match. Hoyt contributed 13 kills while hitting .357. She would also add five block assists and now needs just three more blocks to reach 300 blocks for her career. Loomis finished with 10 kills while Stacey Niehoff and Katy Buck posted 10 digs apiece.
Mohrman finished with a match-high 16 kills while Jennifer Mallard added a "double-double" for UNC Wilmington. Mallard posted 13 kills and 12 digs while Kelli Clear contributed 21 digs.
The Tigers return to action on Sunday, October 3 when they visit Georgia State for a 1 p.m. contest. The Panthers rallied for a 3-2 win over Delaware on Friday evening.
-- TIGERS --
