TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University volleyball team is off to the best start in program history at 11-0 after picking up a pair of wins to close out the Towson Tiger Invitational on Sunday afternoon in SECU Arena. Towson defeated Eastern Michigan, 3-1 and then swept Lafayette, 3-0 in the final match.

The Tigers who claimed their third straight tournament title to start the season where led by junior Olamide Sonuga who was named the tournament MVP. Sonuga was joined on the all-tournament team by fellow Tiger junior Jocelyn Kuilan, Savahna Costello of Cal State Fullerton, Franki Strefling of Eastern Michigan, Liz Kloos from Quinnipiac, George Mason's Mikala Wells and Tori Smith from Lafayette.

THE BASICS
Towson 3, Eastern Michigan 1 (25-23, 28-30, 25-16, 30-28)
Towson 3, Lafayette 0 (25-13, 25-17, 25-17)
SECU Arena, Towson, Md.
Day Four of the Towson Tiger Invitational

HOW IT HAPPENED (Eastern Michigan Match)

• The Eastern Michigan (7-5) match was a closely contested contest as the two teams battled through 26 ties and 15 lead changes.
• With the first set tied at 14-14, Towson used a 6-3 run to take a 20-17 advantage. Sophomore Silvia Grassini had a kill and a block during that stretch for the Tigers. The two teams traded points as a service ace from freshman Camryn Allen pushed the home team advantage to 24-19. Eastern Michigan scored four straight points to pull to within one, 24-23. However the Tigers responded with a kill from sophomore Annie Ertz to close out a 25-23 set win.
• The second set against the Eagles was a back-and-forth battle down the stretch. Eastern Michigan took a 24-22 lead on a Strefling kill. A block from Sonuga allowed Towson to tie the set at 24-24. The two teams traded points before a service ace from the Eagles gave Eastern Michigan a 30-28 set win and tied the match at 1-1.
• With the third set knotted at 4-4, Towson went on an 8-4 run and took a 12-8 lead. Senior Julymar Otero recorded a pair of kills for the Tigers during that stretch. A pair of kills from Ertz allowed Towson to extend its advantage to 17-10. A block from sophomore Marrisa Wonders pushed the Black and Gold's lead to 23-13. A kill from Otero secured a 25-16 set win and gave Towson a 2-1 lead in the match.
• The fourth set was another close battle at the end. Kills from Kuilan, Grassini and Otero gave Towson a 16-9 lead in the set. A service ace from Otero extended the Tiger lead to 20-13. Eastern Michigan scored the next eight straight points and took a 21-20 lead. The two teams traded points before a kill and a pair of blocks from Grassini closed out a 30-28 set win and finished off a 3-1 Towson victory.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED (Lafayette Match)

• The Tigers jumped out to a quick 5-2 lead on a service ace from redshirt junior Anna Holehouse. Back-to-back service aces from Kuilan pushed the Towson advantage to 9-3. Lafayette (1-9) scored five straight points and cut the Tiger lead to one, 9-8. Three straight blocks, that Sonuga had a hand in all of, gave the Black and Gold a 14-9 edge. Wonders had a pair of service aces which pushed the Towson lead to 19-12. A kill from Ertz closed out a 25-13 set win.
• With the second set tied at 7-7, Towson went on a 13-3 run and took a 20-10 lead. Grassini, Kuilan and Ertz all had two kills during that stretch. The two teams continued to battle before a kill from Otero secured a 25-17 set win and gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead in the match.
• Towson opened up a 6-0 lead in the third set and pushed that advantage to 14-8 on a block from Sonuga and Kuilan. Back-to-back kills from Kuilan gave the Tigers an 18-9 lead. The two sides traded points before a block from freshman Kamryn Stambaugh and sophomore Olivia Finckel finished off a 25-17 set win and closed out the match.

 
 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Towson's 11 wins to start the season betters the previous school record of 10 straight wins to start the season, which was set by the 2010 squad.
• Sonuga, who contributed 11 kills and 13 blocks in the two matches on Sunday, finished the tournament with 32 kills and 23 blocks while hitting .448 to take home MVP honors.
• Kuilan led all players with 13 kills against Lafayette. She posted 44 kills, 25 digs, 10 blocks and seven service aces during the tournament.
• Towson continues to limit their opponents' opportunities to hit the ball. Eastern Michigan finished with a .096 hitting percentage while Lafayette hit -.009 for the contest. The Tigers have now limited 10 of their 11 opponents to a hitting percentage under .200.
• The Tigers posted a season-best 14 team blocks against Eastern Michigan. It was the most team blocks by a Tiger squad since Towson had 15 against St. John's during the 2014 campaign. Seven Tigers recorded at least one block against the Eagles.
• Ertz and junior Peyton Moyles each recorded a double-double against Eastern Michigan. Ertz had 12 kills and 15 digs while Moyles dished out 14 assists to go along with 12 digs.
• Ertz added another double-double against Lafayette, posting 10 kills and 11 digs.

 
The Tigers are back in action when they head to Michigan to take part in the Golden Grizzlies Invitational at the University of Oakland on Sept. 15 and 16. Towson will face Fort Wayne in the tournament opener on Friday, Sept. 15 at 3:30 p.m.