TOWSON, Md. – Junior Jessica Lewis had a match-high 19 kills to lead the Towson University volleyball team to a 3-0 win over UNC Wilmington on Sunday afternoon in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). The Tigers (23-4, 10-3 CAA) moved into second place in the CAA standings with their fourth straight win.

THE BASICS
Towson 3, UNC Wilmington 0
SECU Arena, Towson, Md.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Towson led 10-8 in the first set before a 5-0 run gave UNC Wilmington (18-6, 9-3 CAA) a 13-10 lead. The Tigers called timeout and used a 6-2 run following the break to take a 16-15 edge. Lewis had a pair of kills for the Tigers during that stretch. The two teams traded points before a kill from Kristen Powell tied the set at 17-17. Towson scored five of the next six points and took a 22-18 lead. Freshman Jocelyn Kuilan had three kills and a block assist during that run. Three straight kills from Lewis closed out a 25-19 first set win for the Tigers.
• Towson hit .261 in the set while holding UNCW to a .085 clip. Lewis posted eight kills and six digs in the set. Redshirt freshman Anna Holehouse had 12 digs in the first set including her 500th dig of the season.
• The second set saw the Tigers and Seahawks battle through nine ties and five lead changes. With the set tied at 10-10, the Seahawks used a 7-3 run to take a 17-13 advantage. Meredith Peacock had three kills and a block assist during that scoring stretch for UNCW. Head coach Don Metil called timeout and following the break, Towson used a 6-3 run to pull to within one, 20-19. Lewis had a pair of kills during that scoring stretch. UNCW called timeout and responded by scoring two of the next three points for a 22-20 advantage. A kill from Kuilan tied the set at 22-22. A kill from Katie McCullough gave the Seahawks a 23-22 lead. Senior Haley Pa'akaula recorded a kill and a service ace, which gave the home team a 24-23 lead and forced UNCW to use its second timeout. The Tigers sealed a 25-23 second set win with a kill from redshirt sophomore Annika Rigterink.
• UNCW hit .419 in the set and recorded six team blocks. Towson hit .250 in the set and got six kills from Lewis.
• A kill from redshirt sophomore Candace Steadman helped the Tigers open up a 9-5 lead and forced UNCW to use an early timeout. A service ace from Holehouse helped the Tigers extended their advantage to 17-8. Kuilan recorded a kill and pushed the Towson lead to 20-12. The two teams traded points down the stretch before a kill from Lewis allowed the Tigers to post a 25-16 set win and victory in the match.
• Towson hit .213 in the set and held UNCW to a .050 hitting percentage. Lewis and Kuilan combined for nine of the Tigers' 17 kills in the set.

QUOTABLE

• "Fantastic win for us, the kids played well and stuck to the game plan, we had to remind them of it a couple times but then they got back into it," said Metil.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Tigers avenged one of their three CAA losses with today's victory. Towson moved into second place with three matches remaining on its CAA schedule. The top two teams will receive a first round bye in the CAA Tournament.
• Towson celebrated its annual "Autism Awareness" match as there was blue throughout SECU Arena and the Tigers added three more service aces to their "Aces for Autism" program.
• Holehouse's third dig of the match was her 500th of the season. She is the fourth player in program history to reach 500 digs in a single-season. Holehouse, who now has 520 digs on the season, needs three more digs to move into sole possession of second place on the single-season digs list at Towson. She finished the match with 23 digs.
• Lewis, who had a match-high 19 kills added 12 digs for her seventh double-double of the year.
• Kuilan finished with 11 kills and three blocks.

The Tigers head on the road to visit Hofstra and Northeastern next weekend. The Tigers return to SECU Arena on Friday, Nov. 13 to host James Madison on Senior Day.
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