ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Outside hitters Haley Pa'akaula and Saitaua Iosia combined for 22 kills to lead the Towson University volleyball team to a 3-0 win at Navy on Tuesday night. The Tigers who it .289 in the match, snapped a six-match losing streak with the victory.
“It was nice to get a win tonight,” said Towson coach Don Metil. “We made some adjustments on defense and tonight was a much needed victory. Hopefully we can build on this going into the weekend and get some much needed Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) wins.”
The first set was a back-and-forth affair that featured 13 ties and six lead changes. The two sides found themselves knotted at 11-11 following a Navy service error. The Mids (8-12) went on top 16-12 after a ball handling error by the Tigers. A kill by Iosia allowed Towson to take a 20-19 lead. The two teams continued to trade points as ball handling error by the Tigers put Navy in the lead, 23-20. However, that was the last point scored in the set by the Mids. Towson closed the set on a 5-0 run and turned a three-point deficit into a 25-23 win.
The Tigers came out hot in the second set as kill from junior Victoria Williams gave the visitors a 9-3 advantage. Towson increased its lead to 15-6 on a kill from junior Casey Giovanazzi. Back-to-back kills from Williams pushed the Towson lead to 21-13. A kill by Pa'akaula closed out a 25-16 set victory for the Tigers and gave Towson a 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set proved to be a close one as well as the two sides battled through 10 ties and four lead changes. Towson (7-19) jumped out to a 9-4 lead on a block from sophomore Candace Steadman and Pa'akaula. Navy used a 9-4 run to tie the set at 13-13. The two teams traded points as Navy took a 22-20 lead on a service ace. Towson scored three straight on a pair of kills by Pa'akaula and an ace from junior Paige Sekerak to take a 23-22 lead. Navy battled back for a 26-25 lead in the set. However, that was the last point scored by the Mids. Kills from freshman Lindsay Flaherty and Iosia sandwiched around a Navy attack error gave Towson a 28-26 set win and victory in the match.
Iosia notched 11 kills and eight digs while hitting .308 for the match. Pa'akaula finished with 11 kills and hit .304 while junior Aimee Schubert dished out a team-high 20 assists. Giovanazzi added 15 assists while Sekerak contributed 15 digs.
Erin Fortner led Navy with 18 kills and 11 digs in the match.
Towson hosts James Madison in a CAA match on Friday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m.