BALTIMORE, Md. – The Towson University volleyball team opened its 2012 season with a pair of 3-0 victories on day one of the Battle at the Bay Tournament hosted by Morgan State.

"We got off to a slow start in the first match and struggled to stay with our system," said Coach Bruce Atkinson. "I thought we showed some nerves in that first match but the second match we settled down and played our game and hopefully we can do more of that tomorrow."

The Tigers (2-0) defeated UMBC in the season opener, 27-25, 25-21 and 25-17. Towson capped off the day's action with a 25-16, 25-19, 26-24 win over St. John's.

The match against the Retrievers was a close one early on, the Tigers found themselves down 12-5 in the first set. Towson would battle back to pull within three, 19-16 before tying the set at 22-22. The two teams traded points before a pair of attack errors by UMBC allowed Towson to take the first set 27-25. In the second set, the Tigers won six of the final eight points for a 25-21 victory and a 2-0 lead in the match. In what proved to be the third and final set, the Tigers jumped out to a 9-0 lead before securing a 25-17 win and victory in the match.

Junior Dayane Van Ass led the Tigers with 14 kills while fellow junior Katy Buck contributed 11 kills and eight digs. Junior I'ishah Keliikoa led a strong blocking attack as she had seven block assists to go along with six kills. Senior Aubrey Kirven posted 34 assists while directing the offense.

Against the Red Storm, the Tigers jumped out to a 19-15 lead and posted a 25-16 win in the first set. In the second set, Towson led 17-16 but St. John's rallied to tie the set at 19-19. The Tigers however would battle back and score the final six points of the set for the 25-19 win and a 2-0 lead in the match. The third set proved to be a tough battle, the Tigers trailed 5-1 early by came back to tie it at 13-13. St. John's took a 17-14 advantage as  Atkinson called his final timeout of the set. The two squads would continue to battle and found themselves tied at 24-24 before the Tigers got the final two points to secure victory in the set and in the match.

Buck led all players with 16 kills while hitting .406 in the match. Kirven posted her first “double-double” of the year with 36 assists and 12 digs while senior Alysha McCreary added 10 kills and five blocks to the Tigers' cause. Sophomore Paige Sekerak finished with 11 digs.

The Tigers will be back in action when the Battle at the Bay Tournament wraps up on Saturday, August 25. Towson faces Coppin State at 3 p.m. and Morgan State at 8 p.m.