TOWSON, Md. – The fifth set saw 12 ties and four lead changes before the Towson University volleyball team claimed a 23-21 set win and a 3-2 match victory over Elon University on Monday night in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) action. Senior Jessica Lewis recorded five of her match-high 25 kills in the fifth set to power the home team to its second straight win.

THE BASICS
Towson 3, Elon 2 (18-25, 25-19, 25-12, 19-25, 23-21)
SECU Arena, Towson, Md.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Phoenix (15-5, 2-2 CAA) scored eight of the first 10 points in the first set and forced the Tigers to use an early timeout. A service ace from Michelle Klein pushed the Elon lead to 15-9. A kill from Kam Terry extended the Phoenix advantage to 19-10. Towson used a 6-2 run to pull to within five, 21-16. Junior Payton Windell had a kill and a block assist during that stretch. Elon scored four of the final six points in the set and secured the 25-18 victory.
• The second set was a close one as the two teams battled through six ties and one lead change early. Towson took a 13-11 lead on a kill from sophomore Jocelyn Kuilan. A kill from redshirt senior Candace Steadman made it 16-14 in favor of the Black and Gold attack. Back-to-back kills from Steadman and Lewis gave the home team a 20-17 edge. A kill and a service ace from Lewis closed out a 25-19 set win for the Tigers and tied the match at 1-1.
• The Tigers (15-3, 3-1 CAA) came out hot to start the third set and scored the first 10 points. Freshman Annie Ertz, senior Lindsay Flaherty and Kuilan each had two kills during that early run. A kill from Lewis pushed the lead to 12-3. Flaherty added a service ace which extended the Towson advantage to 16-4. Ertz posted a service ace which made it 20-7 in favor of the Tigers. The Tigers continued to battle as a Lewis kill gave Towson a 25-12 set win and a 2-1 lead in the match.
• With the fourth set tied at 9-9, Elon used a 6-2 run to take a 15-11 lead. Sydney Busa had a pair of kills and a block assist during that stretch. Back-to-back service aces from Kayla Agae pushed the Phoenix advantage to 20-14. The two teams continued to battle for each point before an attack error by the Tigers gave Elon a 25-19 set win and tied the match at 2-2.
• Elon jumped out to a 5-3 lead in the fifth set and extended that advantage to 8-6 on an attack error by the Tigers. Elon led 13-11 on a block from Sydel Curry and Klein. Towson responded with back-to-back kills from freshman Marrisa Wonders and Flaherty which tied the set at 13-13. The two teams then started a back-and-forth battle as neither side could get the two point advantage it needed to close out the set. There were nine ties between the Tigers and Phoenix down the stretch in the fifth set. With the set tied at 21-21, the Tigers took advantage of a pair of errors by the Phoenix to claim the 23-21 set win and victory in the match.

 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Towson played its fifth five-set match of the year and improved to 3-2 in those matches.
• Towson hit .217 in the match while Elon hit .219. The Phoenix out blocked the Tigers 11-6 but the Tigers took advantage of nine service aces and recorded 81 digs to Elon's 63.
• Lewis posted her fifth straight double-double and 10^th of the year as she finished with a match-high 25 kills and 11 digs.
• Wonders contributed 41 assists and 11 digs for her fifth straight double-double and CAA leading 11^th double-double of the year.
• Kuilan had 14 kills and a team-high three service aces while Steadman finished with a season-high 11 kills.
• Ertz came off the bench to contribute nine kills and 15 digs while redshirt sophomore Anna Holehouse had a season-high 27 digs.
• Busa led Elon with 21 kills and 17 digs while Kam added 12 kills and four blocks.

The Tigers are back in action when they travel to Hofstra on Thursday, Oct. 6 for a 7 p.m. match.