COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tournament MVP Jocelyn Kuilan had a match-high 22 kills to lead the Towson University volleyball team to a 3-1 win over Western Carolina in the final match of the Golden Eagle Invitational hosted by Tennessee Tech on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers who won their 13th straight match, have tied the 1993 squad for the fourth longest win streak in school history.

THE BASICS
Golden Eagle Invitational, Day Two, Towson 3 Western Carolina 1
Eblen Center, Cookeville, Tenn.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The two teams battled back and forth in the first set before a bad set by the Tigers gave Western Carolina (6-9) an 11-9 advantage. A kill from Jo-Leigh Vervelde extended the Catamounts' lead to 16-12. Towson pulled to within two, 18-16 on a block from sophomore Julymar Otero and freshman Allison Tiegs. However, Western Carolina responded with a 7-4 run and took the first set, 25-20. Alyssa Zupan had a block and an assist during that run.
• Tennessee Tech hit .286 in the set as Vervelde had four kills, four assists and three digs.
• The Tigers (13-1) and Catamounts were tied at 9-9 in the second set. Towson used a 9-0 run to take an 18-9 advantage in the set and Western Carolina was forced to call timeout. Kuilan had three kills during that run while junior Jessica Lewis added two kills. A kill from senior Haley Pa'akaula pushed the Tiger lead to 23-15. Another kill from Pa'akaula closed out a 25-16 set win and tied the match at 1-1.
• Towson hit .382 in the set as Kuilan and Lewis combined for 11 of the team's 17 kills.
• A service ace from Pa'akaula and another from redshirt freshman Anna Holehouse helped the Tigers open up a 7-1 lead in the third set and forced Western Carolina to burn an early timeout. A 5-1 run by the Tigers made it 18-7 in favor of the black and gold. Kuilan had two of the Tigers' five kills during that stretch. A kill from Otero made 23-10 Towson. An attack error by the Catamounts closed out a 25-11 set win and gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead in the match.
• Towson hit .375 in the set as Kuilan had five kills on six attack attempts. Holehouse added eight digs in the set.
• The fourth set was the closest of the match as there were 13 ties and eight lead changes. With the set tied at 24-24, Towson got back-to-back kills from senior Kyana Miller and Kuilan to claim the 26-24 set win and victory in the match.
• Kuilan and Pa'akaula had six kills each in the final set.

QUOTABLE

• "Our right sides performed very well this weekend which gave us the opportunity to take some pressure off of our outsides," said Towson head coach Don Metil. "We still need to execute at a higher level on serve/receive but our ability to terminate at both pints allowed us to find success this weekend."

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Kuilan had 64 kills and hit .477 in the three matches over the weekend to earn MVP honors. She was joined on the all-tournament team by Otero and Lewis. Otero had 33 kills and seven blocks while Lewis finished with 40 kills and 20 digs.
• It's the second tournament win of the year for the Tigers as they also claimed the North Dakota State Tournament.
• Towson needs one more win to tie the best 15-match start in school history.
• The Tigers had four players record double digit kills for the second straight match.
• Pa'akaula posted her seventh double-double of the season with 14 kills and 17 digs. Redshirt senior Aimee Schubert posted her second straight double-double and third of the season. She contributed 37 assists and 10 digs.

The Tigers are back in action as Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play begins on Wednesday, Sept. 23. Towson travels to James Madison for a 7 p.m. match.