CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Towson University volleyball team hit .402 en route to a 3-0 victory over UNC Asheville in the first match of the Hilton University 49er Invitational. Junior Dayane Van Ass led the Tigers (9-3) with 12 kills while hitting .706 for the match.
"Our primary passers and offense did a nice job tonight putting the ball away," said Towson coach Bruce Atkinson. "We need to clean up some of our service and blocking errors in order to be competitive tomorrow."
In the first set, the two squads were battling each other tight early as Towson held an 11-10 lead. Senior Karolina Sawaniewicz recorded a kill that sparked a 6-2 Tiger run which allowed Towson to open up a 17-12 advantage. Sawaniewicz had another kill which extended the Tigers' lead to 20-15. Towson claimed a 25-18 set win on a ball handling error by UNC Asheville.
Towson found itself tied with UNC Asheville early in the second set, 4-4. The Tigers used a 6-0 run, behind the service game of sophomore Aniris Fernandez to open up a 10-4 lead. Fernandez had two of her four service aces during that run. The Tigers continued to increase their lead as a kill from Van Ass made it a 20-12 advantage. A kill from junior Katy Buck sealed the 25-16 set win and gave Towson a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Tigers held a 13-11 edge in the third set after a kill form I'ishah Keliikoa. Towson increased its advantage to 20-14 on a kill from Van Ass. UNC Asheville pulled to within 22-21, however the Tigers recorded three of the set's final four kills to secure the 25-22 victory.
Van Ass had 12 kills and no errors in 17 attempts for her strong hitting performance. Buck finished with 11 kills while hitting .375 and added four digs. Senior Aubrey Kirven contributed 43 assists and seven digs while sophomore Paige Sekerak had nine digs. Keliikoa hit .643 with nine kills for the Tigers.
UNC Asheville was led by Anna Moore, who had 14 kills in the match.
Towson returns to action on Saturday, day two of the Hilton University 49er Invitational. The Tigers face Kennesaw State at 10 a.m. and Charlotte at 7 p.m.
