TOWSON, Md. – The University of Delaware got a combined 21 kills from Katie Hank and Liz Brock en route to a 3-0 victory over the Towson University volleyball team in both team's Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) opener Friday night in SECU Arena. Sophomore Haley Pa'akaula led The Tigers with 11 kills in the contest.
“There are a lot of positives out of tonight, we're in a position to win every time we just need to take care of the ball better,” said Towson head coach Don Metil. “We made some critical errors at some critical times tonight. We have a young team and we are facing a lot of squads with junior and senior laden teams.”
Delaware (9-6, 1-0 CAA) jumped out to a 10-6 lead in the first set behind a kill from Katie Hillman. The Blue Hens pushed their lead to 14-9 following a Tiger (5-13, 0-1 CAA) attack error. The two teams continued to battle as a block from Pa'akaula and senior Dayane Van Ass pulled Towson to within one, 14-13. A 6-0 run extended the Delaware lead to 20-13. The two teams traded points before an attack error by the Tigers gave Delaware a 25-19 first set win.
Towson opened up a quick 9-5 lead in the second set after a kill from junior Saitaua Iosia. The Tigers increased their advantage to 14-7 on another kill from Iosia. A ball handling error by the Blue Hens extended the Tiger lead to 18-13. However, a service error by the Tigers on the next play started a 6-0 run by the visitors that turned a five point deficit to a one point advantage, 19-18. Delaware used a kill from Brock to take a 21-19 lead. Towson closed the lead to one at 21-20 on a service error by Delaware. The Blue Hens responded by scoring four of the final five points in the set to earn the 25-21 set victory. Delaware took a 2-0 lead in the match.
Delaware took an 11-8 lead to start the third set as Brock had a kill. A kill from junior Victoria Williams started a run that saw Towson score nine of the next 12 points. That spurt by the Tigers turned a three-point deficit into a three-point advantage, 17-14. The two teams were battling each other point for point as an Iosia kill gave Towson a 21-19 lead. Delaware used a 3-1 run to tie the set at 22-22. A kill from Pa'akaula put Towson on top 23-22 and forced a Delaware timeout. Brock sandwiched a pair of kills around a Tiger error to secure a 25-23 set victory for the Blue Hens and the match win.
Pa'akaula added five digs and two blocks in addition to her team-leading 11 kills in the contest. Iosia finished with nine kills, seven digs and four blocks while junior Paige Sekerak recorded a match-high 19 digs. Junior Casey Giovanazzi dished out 19 assists while junior Aimee Schubert had 11 assists and six digs in her first action of the season.
Hank finished with 11 kills and six digs for Delaware while Brock added 10 kills. Mackenzie Olsen handed out 37 assists while Ariel Shonk finished with 14 digs.
Towson is back in action on Sunday, Sept. 29 when the Tigers travel to George Washington for a 1 p.m. match.
