WILMINGTON, N.C. – Ten team blocks helped UNC Wilmington claim a 3-1 victory over the Towson University volleyball team on Friday night in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) action. Senior Haley Pa'akaula and junior Jessica Lewis had 18 kills each for the Tigers (18-3, 5-2 CAA) who had a five-match win streak snapped.

THE BASICS
UNC Wilmington 3, Towson 1
Trask Coliseum, Wilmington, N.C.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Back-to-back service aces from Meredith Peacock gave UNCW (15-4, 6-1 CAA) a 10-6 lead in the first set and forced the Tigers to call timeout. A service error by the Tigers extended the Seahawks' lead to 16-9. The two teams continued to battle before a kill from Bella Borgiotti gave UNCW a 25-17 set win.
• The Seahawks hit .296 while the Tigers hit just .114 in the first set. Kristin Powell had two kills and six digs in the set for the Seahawks.
• The second set featured six ties and a lead change between the two squads. Towson trailed 19-15 before a 7-2 run tied the set at 21-21. Redshirt junior Candace Steadman had three kills for the Tigers during that scoring spree. The two teams traded points and found themselves knotted at 24-24. Towson used a kill from Lewis and an attack error by the Seahawks to claim a 26-24 set win. The set victory by the Tigers tied the match at 1-1.
• Towson hit .302 while the Seahawks posted a .237 hitting percentage in the set. Pa'akaula had seven kills in the set while Steadman and Lewis each posted five kills.
• UNCW jumped out to a quick 10-2 lead in the third set on back-to-back attack errors by the Tigers. Following a Towson timeout, the visitors used an 8-3 run to pull to within three, 13-10. Junior Lindsay Flaherty had a kill and two service aces during that stretch. A kill from Powell pushed the home team lead to 18-13. Three straight kills from Peacock gave UNCW a 23-16 advantage. The Seahawks took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-17 set victory.
• The Tigers hit an impressive .400 in the set but UNCW was able to post a .700 hitting percentage in the set. Peacock had seven kills for the Seahawks.
• The fourth set proved to be a back-and-forth affair as the two squads battled through 21 ties and 12 lead changes. UNCW took a 13-9 lead but the Tigers used a 7-3 run to tie the set at 16-16. Sophomore Julymar Otero had a pair of kills during the run. The Seahawks took a 22-20 lead on a bad set by the Tigers. The two teams traded points before UNCW took a 25-24 advantage on a block from Peacock and Powell. A block from Steadman and Otero gave Towson a 30-29 edge. UNCW evened the set at 30-30 before a kill from Pa'akaula put Towson ahead 31-30. However, that was the last point scored by the Tigers. A service ace and a kill gave UNCW a 33-31 set win and a 3-1 victory in the match.
• Towson outhit UNCW in the fourth set. The Tigers had a .292 hitting percentage while UNCW hit .244. Three service errors by the Tigers and five blocks from the Seahawks proved to be the difference in the set. Nicole Lott had eight kills in the set while Lewis had seven kills in the set for Towson.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Towson hit .276 against a UNC Wilmington team that came in holding opponents to a .133 hitting percentage.
• Pa'akaula led the Tigers with 18 kills and 11 digs for her team leading 10th double-double of the year.
• The 31 points scored by the Tigers in the fourth set were the most scored by the Tigers since September of last year.
• Steadman tied her career-high with 11 kills in the match.
• Flaherty had three blocks and needs 13 more to reach 300 for her career.

The Tigers are back in action on Sunday, Oct. 18 when they travel to College of Charleston for a 1 p.m. match. The Cougars fell in a five-set match to James Madison on Friday night.