WILMINGTON, N.C. – Senior Jessica Lewis recorded a team-high 13 kills to lead the No. 5 Towson University volleyball team to a 3-0 win over No. 4 Hofstra University in the first round of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Tournament on the campus of UNCW. The Tigers (24-8) won their first CAA Tournament match since the 2005 season.

THE BASICS
Towson 3, Hofstra 0 (25-19, 26-24, 25-23)
Hanover Hall, Wilmington, N.C.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• A service ace from sophomore Jocelyn Kuilan allowed the Tigers to open up an 8-4 lead in the first set. A 5-0 run pushed the Towson lead to 18-8, Lewis had a pair of kills during that stretch. A kill from senior Lindsay Flaherty extended the Towson lead to 20-11 and Hofstra called timeout. The two teams battled back-and-forth before a kill from Kuilan sealed a 25-19 set win for the Tigers.
• A service ace from Caylie Denham allowed Hofstra (20-10) to open up an 11-7 lead in the second set. Towson responded with a 9-3 run and took a 16-14 edge. Kuilan had a pair of kills and a service ace during that stretch while sophomore Meredith Dignan got a kill. A kill from junior Payton Windell pushed the Tiger lead to 20-16. A kill from freshman Annie Ertz gave Towson a 24-22 lead. Back-to-back points from the Pride tied the set at 24-24. Towson got a kill from redshirt senior Candace Steadman and a service ace from Kuilan to secure a 26-24 second set win. That allowed the Tigers to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
• A block from Steadman allowed Towson to take a 7-4 lead in the third set. Hofstra responded with a 7-4 run of its own and took an 11-8 lead. A service error by the Pride started a 7-1 Towson run which gave the Black and Gold attack a 15-12 lead. Lewis and Windell each had a pair of kills during that stretch. A kill from Lewis pushed the Towson lead to 19-14. The Tigers pushed their lead to 22-18 on a kill from Steadman. Kills by Windell on two of the final three serves gave Towson a 25-23 set win and victory in the match.

 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Towson won a CAA Tournament match for the first time since 2005.
• Towson hit .300 in the match while Hofstra posted a .260 percentage.
• The Tigers got five service aces, Kuilan contributed three and Ertz had the other two. Hofstra had just one service ace in the match.
• Lewis hit .345 for the match and added seven digs to go with her 13 kills.
• Kuilan had eight kills while Steadman and Ertz each posted seven kills.
• Freshman Marrisa Wonders posted her CAA leading 20^th double-double of the year. She finished with 24 assists and 14 digs.
• Redshirt sophomore Anna Holehouse tied for match-high honors with 16 digs.
• Laura Masciullo led Hofstra with 15 kills.
• Towson improved to 15-1 this year when a match goes three sets.

The Tigers will face No. 1 James Madison in the CAA semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 2 p.m.