NEWARK, Del. – The Towson University volleyball team powered home a season-high 13 service aces en route to a 3-1 win at the University of Delaware on Wednesday night in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) action. The Tigers (18-3, 4-3 CAA) won their second straight match as sophomore Silvia Grassini had a match-high six service aces.

THE BASICS
Towson 3, Delaware 1 (25-17, 25-13, 21-25, 25-21)
Bob Carpenter Center, Newark, Del.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• A kill from junior Olamide Sonuga allowed the Tigers to open up a 6-3 lead in the first set.
• A block and a kill from sophomore Annie Ertz extended the Towson advantage to 13-8 in the stanza.
• Senior Julymar Otero connected on a service ace and the visitors took a 17-9 lead.
• A block from Grassini and Ertz extended the Black and Gold's advantage to 22-15.
• Towson closed out the first set on a kill from Sonuga, which gave the Tigers a 25-17 set win.
• Back-to-back service aces from Ertz gave Towson a 6-1 lead and Delaware (3-14, 1-6 CAA) used an early timeout in the second set.
• The Tigers used a 9-0 run to take a 22-8 advantage in the second stanza. That stretch was highlighted by five service aces from Grassini.
• A pair of kills from junior Carola Biver helped Towson close out a 25-13 set win and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
• The third set featured seven ties and one lead change.
• Maria Bellinger's service ace helped Delaware take a 14-10 lead in the third set as Towson head coach Don Metil called timeout.
• Towson scored five of the next six points out of the break and tied the set at 15-15.
• Delaware called timeout and used a 6-2 run to pull ahead 21-17. Bailey Pearlman had a pair of kills during that stretch.
• The two teams continued to battle before an attack error by the Tigers gave Delaware a 25-21 set win and forced the match to a fourth set.
• Towson opened up a 7-1 lead in the fourth set behind a service ace from Ertz and a pair of kills from Biver.
• Three straight blocks involving Julia Hayes allowed Delaware to take a 10-8 edge in the set.
• The two sides went back-and-forth as Ertz and Sonuga's block gave Towson a 14-12 edge.
• The Tigers and Blue Hens traded points before junior Jocelyn Kuilan contributed a kill and service ace which allowed the Black and Gold to take a 20-18 advantage.
• The two teams continued to battle before a block from Grassini and Otero gave Towson a 25-21 set win and victory in the match.  

 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Tigers hit .227 in the match while holding Delaware to a .161 hitting percentage.
• Towson's 13 service aces are the most since the Tigers had 13 against Canisius in early September of last year. Grassini led the way with six service aces, it was the most by a Tiger since Ertz has six against Jackson State last year.
• Kuilan posted a team-high 13 kills while Biver added 11 kills for the Tigers.
• Otero had a double-double for Towson with 25 assists and 14 digs, she also added eight kills.
• Redshirt junior Anna Holehouse had a match-high 19 digs for the Tigers.
• Towson has now won back-to-back matches against Delaware in the Bob Carpenter Center.
• Bellinger led Delaware with 15 kills and eight digs.

 
The Tigers are back in action on Sunday, Oct. 15 when they travel to James Madison for a 1 p.m. game.