TOWSON, Md. – Senior Haley Pa'akaula recorded eight of her match-high 12 kills in the third set to seal a 3-0 win for the Towson University volleyball team over St. Francis (Pa.) on Saturday night as part of the Towson Invitational in SECU Arena.

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

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Tied at 8-8 in the first set, Towson used a 4-1 run to take a 12-9 lead. Junior Lindsay Flaherty had a pair of kills during that stretch. Three straight kills gave the home team a 15-10 advantage and forced St. Francis (1-3) to call timeout. A kill from redshirt junior Candace Steadman gave Towson a 20-12 lead. That was part of a 6-3 run to close out a 25-15 set win for the Tigers.
• Steadman had three kills and a block for the Tigers during the run that closed out the set. She had five kills and hit .714 in the set. Towson hit .471 as a team and held St. Francis to a .118 clip.
• The Tigers (2-1) trailed 5-4 in the second set before a 4-0 run gave the home team an 8-5 lead. Junior Jessica Lewis had a pair of kills in that run. A service ace pulled St. Francis to within one, 11-10. Towson scored eight of the next 10 points and extended its lead to 19-12. Towson scored five straight points on the service game of freshman Jocelyn Kuilan. A kill from Pa'akaula closed out a 25-15 set victory and gave Towson a 2-0 lead in the match.
• Towson hit .321 in the second set while St. Francis posted a .034 hitting percentage. Kuilan was one of five Tigers with at least two kills in the set and added four digs.
• The Red Flash opened the third set on a 6-2 run and forced the Tigers to call timeout. Towson responded with an 8-4 which tied the set at 10-10. Pa'akaula had a pair of kills and a block assist during that run. The two teams battled before back-to-back kills from Kuilan gave Towson a 14-11 advantage. The two teams traded points as St. Francis pulled to within one, 19-18. Towson closed the set on a 6-0 run to secure the 25-18 victory. Pa'akaula had four kills in the final six points.
• Towson hit .429 in the third set as Pa'akaula had eight kills and no errors in 13 attempts (.615).

QUOTABLE

• "I thought both matches we came out a little slow but we picked things up in the middle," said head coach Don Metil. "The girls listened to the game plan which was important. We needed to establish the middle tonight and Candace and Lindsay and they did a great job."

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Towson hit a season-high .411 in the match. It was the first time since October of last year that the Tigers hit .400 or better in a match.
• Redshirt freshman Anna Holehouse anchored the back line with 13 digs.

The Tigers wrap up the Towson Invitational with a pair of matches on Sunday, August 30. Towson hosts Delaware State at 11 a.m. and Coppin State at 3 p.m.