TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University volleyball team used a strong presence at the net to claim a 3-0 win over Manhattan on Saturday afternoon in day two of the Towson Invitational. The Tigers (1-1) recorded seven team blocks and had five players with at least one block in the match.

THE BASICS
The Towson Invitational, Day Two, Towson 3 Manhattan 0
SECU Arena, Towson, Md.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Towson found itself trailing 7-3 to open the first set against the Jaspers (2-1). However, a 4-0 run highlighted by a service ace from senior Kyana Miller tied the set at 7-7. The two teams battled and found themselves tied at 15-15. An attack error by the Jaspers gave Towson a lead it would not relinquish. Towson took a 20-17 lead on a block from redshirt junior Candace Steadman. Towson closed out a 25-21 set win on a kill from freshman Jocelyn Kuilan.
• Kuilan led the Tigers in the first set with four kills while Steadman had three kills and a pair of blocks.
• The Tigers came out firing in the second set as back-to-back blocks from junior Lindsay Flaherty and senior Haley Pa'akaula gave the home team a 6-0 lead. The Tigers pushed their advantage to 16-10 on a kill from freshman Carola Biver. A block from Pa'akaula made it 22-13 in favor of the home team and forced Manhattan to call timeout. A kill from freshman Julymar Otero closed out a 25-15 set win for the Tigers and gave Towson a 2-0 lead in the match.
• Towson hit .250 while holding Manhattan to a .031 clip in the set. Biver led the way with three kills on four attempts and added five digs.
• The Tigers and Jaspers battled early in the third and found themselves tied at 6-6. Towson used a 5-0 run to take an 11-6 advantage. That run was highlighted by a pair of kills from Pa'akaula. Three straight kills from Kuilan pushed the Towson lead to 16-8. A solo block from Kuilan gave Towson a 22-9 lead. A kill from redshirt sophomore Annika Rigterink finished off a 25-14 set win and victory in the match for the Tigers.

QUOTABLE

• "We talked about being concerned about a slow start," said head coach Don Metil. "We need to work on our intensity no matter who is on the other side of the net. I thought Carola did a nice job of coming in and passing to help us stay in system."

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Kuilan led the Tigers in kills for the second straight match, this time finishing with 12.
• Pa'akaula just missed her second straight double-double as she had nine kills and 14 digs while adding three blocks.
• Flaherty had four kills and three blocks, she needs 32 more blocks to move into the top 10 for career blocks at Towson.

The Tigers wrap up day two of the Towson Invitational when they return to SECU Arena court to host St. Francis (Pa.) at 7 p.m.