FARGO, N.D. – Senior Haley Pa'akaula and freshman Jocelyn Kuilan combined for 25 kills to lead the Towson University volleyball team to a 3-1 win at North Dakota State University as part of the North Dakota State Tournament on Friday evening. The Tigers (5-1) won their fifth straight match with the victory.

THE BASICS
North Dakota State Tournament, Day One, Towson 3 North Dakota State 1
Bentson Bunker FH, Fargo, N.D.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• North Dakota State jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the first set and the Tigers were forced to use an early timeout. A kill from Emily Minnick made it 13-8 in favor of the home team. The Tigers used a 5-0 run to tie the set at 13-13. Trailing 16-15, the Tigers went on a 5-0 run and took a 20-16 lead. Kuilan had a pair of service aces during that stretch. The two teams continued to battle before a pair of errors by the Bison (3-2) gave Towson a 27-25 set win.
• Towson hit .281 to North Dakota State's .176 in the first set. Pa'akaula led the Tigers with five kills and hit .625 in the set..
• The second set was another close one as there were six ties and three lead changes. Tied at 19-19, a kill from Minnick gave the Bison a lead they would not relinquish. Towson pulled to within one, 23-22 but a service ace from Monica Claxton gave North Dakota State a 25-22 win and tied the match at 1-1.
• Towson hit .423 in the second set but committed four service errors. Jenni Fassbender led the Bison with four kills.
• The Tigers jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the third set on a service ace from junior Lindsay Flaherty. A kill from Flaherty pushed the Tiger lead to 14-11. North Dakota State tied the set at 16-16 before a kill from freshman Julymar Otero gave Towson a lead it would not give up. The two teams traded points before a service ace from redshirt freshman Anna Holehouse gave Towson a 25-22 set win and a 2-1 lead in the match.
• Otero led the Tigers with four kills and hit .500 in the set while redshirt senior Aimee Schubert dished out 10 assists.
• The fourth set featured 11 ties and eight lead changes. The two teams were tied at 12-12 before a kill from Kuilan put the Tigers back on top. A service ace from freshman Carola Biver gave Towson an 18-14 lead. A kill from junior Jessica Lewis closed out a 25-20 set win and gave the Tigers victory in the match.
• Towson hit .278 to North Dakota State's .139 in the set.

QUOTABLE

• "I'm definetly pleased with the pre-conference performance of my team so far with the all obstacles I've placed in front of them," said Head Coach Don Metil. "We played five matches in three days during the opening weekend and then the team got up at 4:30 a.m. (EST) to fly to North Dakota State the day of the match. We played in front of a great crowd and a band in a very hot gym and that shows the will this young team has. We do need to clean up the service game and more production from our second outside hitter."

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Pa'akaula finished with 11 kills and 16 digs for her second double-double of the season and 12th of her career. She tied her career-high with 16 digs in the contest.
• Kuilan had five service aces for the second straight match. She now has a team-high 12 service aces on the season.

The Tigers return to action on Saturday, September 5 for day two of the North Dakota State Tournament. Towson faces Milwaukee at 11 a.m. (EST) and Utah Valley at 5 p.m. (EST).