HARRISONBURG, Va. - The Towson University volleyball team closed out the regular season with a 3-1 victory at James Madison on Saturday evening. The Tigers (23-8, 10-4 CAA) won their third straight match and claimed the three seed for the upcoming Colonial Athletic Association Tournament with the victory.
The Tigers found themselves down early in the first set to the Dukes (19-10, 8-6 CAA) as they trailed 15-11 and 22-17. However a kill from junior Alysha McCreary started a four-point run that pulled Towson to within one at 22-21. James Madison held a 24-23 lead in the set before a McCreary kill tied the action at 24-24. The Tigers got back-to-back kills from sophomore Katy Buck to earn the 26-24 set win.
The Tigers and Dukes were tied at 9-9 in the second set, before Towson used a 7-2 run to open up a 16-11 lead. A kill from Buck would allow Towson to extend its advantage to 20-16 before claiming the set 25-19. Towson held a 2-0 lead in the match heading into the third set. The Dukes would take advantage of eight kills from Danielle Erb to earn a 25-13 win in the third set.
The two squads battled in the fourth set and found themselves tied at 11-11. The Tigers would use some strong play at the net including a kill from sophomore I'ishah Keliikoa to open up a 19-12 advantage. Towson would extend its lead to 21-14 behind another kill from Keliikoa. James Madison would pull to within three at 23-20 before the Tigers got the final two points they needed for the 25-20 victory.
For the second straight night, McCreary led the Tigers in kills as she had 16 while hitting .333. She would also add two digs and three blocks in the contest. Buck finished with 13 kills and six digs while junior Aubrey Kirven recorded the "double-double." Kirven contributed 45 assists, 11 digs and four kills. Freshman Paige Sekerak had a match-high 17 digs and five assists.
Erb finished with 14 kills and eight digs for James Madison. Megan Wiechmann contributed 33 assists and eight digs for the Dukes.
Towson returns to action when the CAA Tournament begins on Friday, Nov. 18. The tournament will be hosted by Delaware, which earned the league's number one seed. The Tigers' first round opponent will be determined once the regular season is completed on Sunday.
- TOWSONTIGERS.COM -
