BOX SCORE MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Behind a season-high 13 service aces, the Towson University volleyball team rolled to a 3-0 win over the Citadel in its opening match of the Alabama State Tournament Friday morning. The Tigers got five service aces each from Lindsay Flaherty and Haley Pa'akaula as they improved to 7-0 on the year.

The 13 service aces are tied for the most by a Tiger team under Head Coach Don Metil.

Back-to-back service aces by Saitaua Iosia gave Towson a 7-1 advantage in the first set. An ace from Pa'akaula made it 14-5 in favor of the Tigers. A kill from Flaherty put Towson ahead 20-6 in the set. A kill from Pa'akaula closed out a 25-8 first set victory for the Tigers.

The second set was the most closely contested of the contest. The two squads battled through six ties early on. Tied at 11, the Tigers took advantage for four straight errors by the Bulldogs to take a 15-11 edge. Towson pushed its lead to 19-11 on a service ace from Flaherty. Back-to-back service aces from Pa'akaula gave the Tigers a 23-17 advantage. A service error by the Citadel closed out a 25-21 second set victory for the Tigers.

Towson opened the third set on an 11-4 run and forced the Citadel to call an early timeout. That run included two more service aces from Flaherty. A block from Candace Steadman and Barbara Lopez put Towson ahead 16-6 in the set. The two teams continued to battle before a Citadel error gave Towson a 25-10 set three win and a 3-0 victory in the match.

Pa'akaula led the Tigers with a team-high 12 kills and seven digs to go with her five service aces. Iosia contributed 10 kills, three digs and two service aces. Flaherty posted six kills and five blocks to go along with her five aces. Aimee Schubert dished out 19 assists to go along with seven digs. Paige Sekerak recorded 11 digs.

Rachel Keefer dished out 13 assists to quarterback the Citadel offense.

Towson is back in action when it faces Savannah State at 6 p.m. as part of the Alabama State Tournament.