BOSTON, Mass. – In a match that featured 37 ties and 17 lead changes, the Towson University volleyball team battled for a 3-1 win at Northeastern University on Sunday afternoon in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) action. The Tigers (23-3, 9-3 CAA) won their seventh straight match while avenging one of their three CAA losses from earlier this season.

Towson clinched a spot in the CAA Championships that will be held November 16-18 at James Madison University.

Redshirt junior Anna Holehouse had 21 digs, including the 1,500th of her career. She is just the third player in school history to reach that mark.

THE BASICS
Towson 3, Northeastern 1 (30-28, 25-21, 20-25, 25-23)
Cabot Center, Boston, Mass.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first set was a back-and-forth battle that featured 19 ties and 10 lead changes.
• Trailing 28-27, the Tigers took advantage of three straight kills from sophomore Annie Ertz to claim a 30-28 set win and took the early lead in the match.
• Towson quickly jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the second set on a kill from junior Jocelyn Kuilan.
• A kill from Ertz pushed the Towson lead to 11-8 in the stanza.
• Northeastern (16-9, 9-3 CAA) responded by scoring 10 of the next 11 points and took an 18-12 lead. Amy Underdown had a pair of kills during that run.
• The Huskies pushed their lead to 19-13 on a kill from Carmen Costa.
• Towson responded with a 5-1 run and pulled to within two, 20-18.
• Northeastern scored the next point and took a 21-18 edge. However that was the last point the Huskies scored in the set.
• Towson tallied the final seven points of the set for a 25-21 set win and the Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the match. Kuilan had three kills during that crucial run while Holehouse added a service ace.
• The Tigers opened up an 11-8 lead in the third set on a service ace from Kuilan.
• Northeastern scored four of the next five points and tied the score at 12-12.
• An attack error by the Tigers gave the Huskies an 18-15 advantage.
• A kill from Natalie Shollin pushed the Northeastern lead to 23-17 and led to a Towson timeout.
• The two teams traded points before a kill from Athena Ardila gave the home team a 25-20 set win and forced the match to a fourth set.
• The Tigers and Huskies were tied at 10-10 in the fourth set following an Ardila kill.
• Towson then used a 7-1 run to take a 17-11 advantage. That run featured four Tiger service aces, including three from Ertz.
• The Tigers pushed their lead to 18-14 on a kill from junior Peyton Moyles.
• A block from sophomore Silvia Grassini and Ertz put the visitors ahead, 23-19.
• Three kills from Underdown pulled Northeastern to within one, 24-23.
• A service error by Northeastern on the next play gave Towson a 25-23 set win and victory in the match.

 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Tigers moved into a tie with Northeastern for second place in the CAA standings with four matches to play.
• Towson hit .239 in the match while Northeastern posted a .229 hitting percentage.
• Holehouse, who finished with 21 digs in the match, joins Paige Sekerak (2011-14) and Stacy Humphries (1992-95) as the only players in school history to record over 1,500 digs in their careers.
• Kuilan, Ertz and Moyles each posted double-doubles for the Tigers. Kuilan had a team-high 17 kills and 10 digs for her first double-double of the year while Ertz contributed 12 kills and 14 digs. Moyles finished with 14 assists and 11 digs.
• Sophomore Olivia Finckel posted her second straight double-digit kills match with 10 kills.
• Towson was aided by seven service aces and seven team blocks. Ertz led the serving game with three service aces. Grassini led the blocking game with four.
• Underdown led Northeastern with 24 kills and 12 digs.

 
The Tigers return home for the final four games of the regular season. The action kicks off Friday, November 3 when they host College of Charleston at 7 p.m. It will be the Tigers' "Autism Awareness" match and all fans are encouraged to wear blue to support the cause.