WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Three players recorded double digit kills as the Towson University volleyball team posted a 3-0 victory over William & Mary on Friday night. The Tigers (16-3, 3-0 CAA) stretched their win streak to nine straight matches with the victory.
“Our back row defense did a nice job of controlling the match,” said Towson coach Bruce Atkinson. “We were a little sluggish offensively in the first two sets, but we were able to clean things up in the third to finish the match strong.”
The two squads battled through nine ties early in the first set. Tied at 16-16, the Tigers recorded three straight points to take a lead they would not relinquish. William & Mary (10-8, 2-2 CAA) pulled to within one, 20-19 on a Tiger attack error. Towson scored the final five points of the first set, as a pair of kills from junior Dayane Van Ass sealed the 25-19 win.
William & Mary jumped out to an early 8-5 lead in the second set behind a block from Liz Brown and Monika Stanciauskas. A kill from Van Ass tied the set at 8-8 and junior Katy Buck followed with a service ace to give the visitors the lead back. Back-to-back kills from Van Ass gave the Tigers a 15-11 advantage in the set. A kill from Manon Murray pulled the Tribe to within one, 19-18. Towson scored seven of the final 10 points in the set to clinch a 25-22 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Tigers opened up a 14-9 lead in the third set behind a kill from Buck. Towson increased its advantage to 17-11 on a block from seniors Alysha McCreary and Aubrey Kirven. A kill from senior Marta Machos pulled the Tigers to within three points of the win at 22-16. Towson clinched the 3-0 win as a kill from Buck finished off a 25-17 third set win.
Van Ass led the Tigers with 12 kills while hitting .292 with three blocks. Buck posted her fifth “double-double” of the season with 11 kills, 13 digs and two block assists. McCreary contributed 10 kills, five digs, three blocks and two service aces. Kirven had 39 assists and seven digs while sophomore Paige Sekerak had 11 digs.
Dessi Koleva led William & Mary with 10 kills and 10 digs while Molly Krull had 13 assists.
Towson will be back in action on Sunday, Oct. 7 with a 1 p.m. match at UNC Wilmington.
