BOX SCORE TOWSON, Md. – Junior Haley Pa'akaula had a career-high 19 kills and 14 digs to lead the Towson University volleyball team to a 3-1 win over Kent State in the team's opening match of the Tiger Invitational Friday. Pa'akaula was one of three Tigers (11-1) to post double-digit kills in the win.

"Our middles looked good early but we need to be more consistent when we get pushed to a fourth set," said Towson Head Coach Don Metil. "I said to the team before the match, today we write a story, it's yours to write. At the end, it could be Kent State beats Towson or Towson beats Kent State and shocks the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) since Kent State beat College of Charleston earlier this year.

"Haley did really well with her double-double, kills and points," added Metil. "She did well in that regard but she also gave back a bunch of points so if she can clean that up, we can be even better."

The two teams battled early in the first set as Towson held an early 10-9 lead. However, a kill from freshman Barbara Lopez on the next play started a 5-0 run for the Tigers. That scoring stretch pushed the Towson lead to 15-9. Kent State (8-3) called timeout and briefly halted the Towson run with a kill from Liz Reikow. The Tigers bounced back with a kill from senior Saitaua Iosia on the next serve. Iosia's kill started another 5-0 run for the Tigers. That scoring push gave Towson a 20-10 advantage. Pa'akaula had a pair of kills during the run. The two squads continued to trade points before an attack error from Kent State gave Towson a 25-16 set win.

Pa'akaula tallied eight first set kills and five digs to lead the Tigers.

The second set saw the two teams locked in a close contest early on. Towson held a slim 9-8 edge before a 7-1 run from the home team pushed the lead to 16-9. Sophomore Lindsay Flaherty had a kill and a pair of block assists during that stretch for the Tigers. Back-to-back kills from Pa'akaula pushed the Tiger advantage to 18-11. Towson closed out the set with a pair of service aces from senior Paige Sekerak. The 25-15 set win gave Towson a 2-0 lead in the match.

Pa'akaula tallied a team-high six kills in the second stanza.

The third set proved the closest of the match as the teams battled through seven ties and four lead changes. Kent State took a 23-21 lead on a kill from Kelly Hutchison. However a kill from Iosia made it 23-22 in the set. Kent State took advantage of a block and attack error by the Tigers to claim the 25-22 set victory and force the match to a fourth set.

Bridget Wilhelm led all players with five kills in the set.

Towson jumped out to an early 8-3 lead in the fourth set on a kill from redshirt sophomore Candace Steadman. Consecutive attack errors by Kent State pushed the Towson lead to 16-8. A kill from senior Victoria Williams gave Towson a 21-16 lead in the set. The two teams traded points before a block from Lopez and Flaherty gave Towson a 25-23 set win and victory in the match.

Williams led all players with five kills in the fourth set.

Pa'akaula's "double-double" was her third of the season. She also had a pair of service aces and assists in the match. Iosia contributed 14 kills and seven digs while Williams finished with 10 kills. Redshirt junior Aimee Schubert dished out 31 assists while Sekerak had 14 digs.

Hutchison led Kent State with eight kills and four blocks.

Towson is back in action on Friday evening when it hosts North Dakota State at 7 p.m. to wrap up day one of the Tiger Invitational.