TOWSON, Md. – College of Charleston rallied from a 2-0 deficit for a 3-2 win over the Towson University volleyball team on Sunday afternoon in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) action in SECU Arena. Towson (23-4, 9-3 CAA) got double-doubles from three players including redshirt junior
Aimee Schubert in the heartbreaking loss.
The two teams battled early in the first set and found themselves tied at 13-13. Towson used a 6-1 run to take a 19-14 advantage in the set. Highlighting that run was a pair of kills from sophomore
Lindsay Flaherty. The Tigers pushed their lead to 21-17 on a kill from senior
Victoria Williams. Towson closed out the 25-20 set win on a kill from senior
Saitaua Iosia.
Junior
Haley Pa'akaula led Towson with five kills and five digs in the set.
Towson opened up a quick 8-4 advantage in the second set on a service ace from Schubert. A kill from
Kallie McKown allowed the Cougars to tie the set at 10-10. Trailing 11-10 in the set, Towson took advantage of a pair of attack errors by College of Charleston, a kill from Pa'akaula and a block from redshirt sophomore
Candace Steadman and freshman
Barbara Lopez to take a 14-11 lead. A pair of Iosia kills helped Towson extend its advantage to 18-15. College of Charleston (18-9, 10-2 CAA) pulled to within two, 18-16 on a Towson service error. However, the Tigers responded with a 7-1 run to close out the second set, 25-17. Steadman had a pair of kills down the stretch for the Tigers.
Steadman and Iosia each had four kills in the set as Towson hit .250 to the Cougars' .095.
The third set proved to be a tough battle as the two sides fought through 12 ties and four lead changes. Towson trailed 17-15 in the set following a
Sloane White service ace. The Tigers used a 5-1 run to take a 20-18 lead and forced the Cougars to call timeout. Pa'akaula had a pair of kills during that stretch. Towson pushed its lead to 23-21 on another kill from Pa'akaula. Back-to-back kills from White and
Melissa Morello allowed the visitors to tie the set at 23-23. Towson went back on top 24-23 on a kill from Lopez. However a kill from White and a pair of attack errors by the Tigers gave College of Charleston a 26-24 set win and forced the match to a fourth set.
Morello had five kills and four digs for the Cougars during that stretch while Schubert had seven assists and seven digs for the Tigers.
The fourth set was another close one as the two sides had 13 ties and seven lead changes to battle through. Towson lead 16-14 following a College of Charleston attack error. The Cougars called timeout and responded with a 6-2 run which gave the visitors a 20-18 lead.
Cara Howley had a pair of kills and a block assist during that stretch. The two teams traded points and Towson pulled to within one, 22-21 on a kill from Pa'akaula. College of Charleston got three straight kills, one form White and two from Howley to claim a 25-21 set win and tie the match at 2-2.
Howley had six kills during that set for the Cougars while Iosia led Towson with five kills and four digs.
College of Charleston carried its momentum into the fifth set as it took a 7-4 lead on a kill from
Grace Rebarchak. A block from Flaherty pulled Towson to within two, 8-6. The Cougars quickly pushed their lead to five, 11-6 with three straight points. A kill from Iosia cut the Tiger deficit to four, 12-8. The two sides traded points before a kill from Howley closed out a 15-10 set win and gave the Cougars the victory in the match.
College of Charleston hit .300 in the final set while holding the Tigers to a .143 percentage.
Despite suffering its first loss of the season at home, the Tigers received several big performances in the match. Schubert finished with 25 assists and 20 digs while Pa'akaula also had a double-double with 18 kills, 13 digs and four blocks. Iosia contributed 13 kills and 10 digs while Williams and Steadman each had 11 kills. Senior
Paige Sekerak just missed a double-double as she posted 29 digs and nine assists. Lopez dished out 23 assists with seven kills and four blocks.
Morello and Howley each had a team-high 16 kills in the win. Morello contributed 18 digs for the double-double. McKown had 32 assists and 21 digs for the Cougars as well.
After having a nine-match win streak snapped, the Tigers look to get back to their winning ways on Friday, Nov. 7. Towson travels to William & Mary for a 7 p.m. match that night.
