TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University volleyball team used a 25-13 first set win to set the tone early en route to a 3-0 win over Elon University on Friday night in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) action. The Tigers (20-4, 7-3 CAA) got a combined 23 kills from juniors Jessica Lewis and Candace Steadman in the win.

THE BASICS
Towson 3, Elon 0
SECU Arena, Towson, Md.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Tigers and Phoenix (5-18, 1-8 CAA) found themselves tied at 8-8 in the first set following a kill from Elon's Catherine Head. A kill from Steadman on the next play started a 5-0 run that gave the home team a 13-8 lead. Steadman had two kills during the run. Elon tallied the next two points to pull to within three, 13-10. Towson responded with an 8-0 run and took a 21-10 lead in the set. Steadman had three kills during the run while sophomore Julymar Otero and senior Haley Pa'akaula each added two kills. The two teams traded points before a service error by the Phoenix gave Towson a 25-13 first set win.
• Towson hit .368 to Elon's .143 percentage in the first set. Steadman and Otero posted five and four kills respectively while neither player had a hitting error in the set. The Tigers as a team had 15 kills with just one error in 38 attempts to post their hitting percentage.
• The second set began much like the first as the two teams traded points early and found themselves tied at 8-8. Steadman's kill gave Towson a 9-8 lead and the Tigers did not trail again in the set. That kill was part of a 6-1 run that gave Towson a 14-9 lead. Pa'akaula had a pair of kills for the Tigers during that stretch. A kill from junior Lindsay Flaherty gave Towson a 16-13 edge. Back-to-back kills from Lewis pushed the Tiger lead to 20-14 and forced Elon to call timeout. Following the timeout, the Phoenix used a 3-0 run which made it a 20-17 game. Towson scored five of the final seven points to claim a 25-19 set win and took a 2-0 lead in the match.
• The Tigers hit .224 in the set while holding the Phoenix to a .100 hitting percentage. Lewis had five kills and eight digs in the set while redshirt freshman Anna Holehouse also added eight digs.
• Towson opened up an 8-4 lead in the third set and forced Elon to use an early timeout. Lewis had three kills during that run while Pa'akaula added a kill and a block. The Tigers extended the lead to 13-8 on a kill from Otero. Another kill from Pa'akaula pushed the Towson advantage to 19-12 and the Phoenix used their second timeout. The two teams traded points before a kill from Otero sealed a 25-19 third set win and gave Towson a victory in the match.
• Towson hit .333 in the third set while Elon posted a .176 hitting percentage. Otero and Lewis each had five kills in the set.

QUOTABLE

• "I thought we did a much better job in the middle tonight then against Delaware," said Towson head coach Don Metil. "The middles got more opportunities and they took advantage. We talk about winning the battles and tonight we did that in the middle. I thought Jessica did a great job tonight."

 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Towson improved to 8-0 in three set matches and reached the 20 win mark for the second straight season under Metil.
• Lewis posted a match-high 13 kills and added 12 digs for her sixth double-double of the season.
• Senior Kyana Miller earned the start and had 23 assists and 12 digs for her sixth double-double of the year.
• Steadman had 10 kills and hit .500 in the match.
• Holehouse had a match-high 19 digs.

The Tigers are back in action on Saturday, Oct. 24 when they host William & Mary at 5 p.m. Fans are reminded that the Tiger football team is home for Homecoming at 7 p.m. tomorrow and because of that parking will be in Lots 13 & 14 for football and volleyball on a first come first serve basis starting at 3 p.m. Anyone unable to secure a spot in lots will need to park on main campus and take the shuttle to the athletic complex.