TOWSON, Md. -- Powered by Senior Day ceremonies, the Towson University women's volleyball team secured the top seed in the 2021 CAA Women's Volleyball Championship Presented by Primis, topping visiting Northeastern 3-0 on Sunday.

Towson (24-4, 12-4 CAA) secured the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Regular Season Championship outright thanks to a Hofstra sweep of James Madison on Sunday. The Tigers have earned the right to host the 2022 CAA Women's Volleyball Championship at SECU Arena.

With the sweep, Towson has secured the top seed in next week's CAA Tournament, which begins with quarterfinal matches at SECU Arena on Thursday at 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

The Tiger offense was balanced once again, led by nine kills each from Fay Bakodimou and Lydia Wiers. Wiers was back in form with a .450 hitting percentage with nine kills on 20 swings with zero errors. Senior Emily Jarome had a day as well, scoring eight kills on 17 swings with zero errors, a .471 hitting percentage. Rachel Hess grabbed 23 digs in the sweep while Towson landed 11 total blocks, aided by five from Wiers and four from Nina Cajic and senior Nikiya Mitchell.

Northeastern (12-14, 8-8 CAA) was led by Erica Staunton, who logged 12 kills but had nine errors for an .111 hitting percentage. Jessica Frannea put up all 25 of the Huskies assists. Libero Kayla Martin snagged 15 digs while Amanda Guasti-Nugent had another 11.

How it Happened

• Both sides traded mini runs early in the first set, first a 3-0 burst for Northeastern, then a matched run for the Tigers. Eventually things were tied 7-7 before a quick 3-0 run for Towson put the hosts on top 10-7.
• Later in the set, Northeastern took a 13-12 lead with a 3-0 run of its own but the Tigers responded in kind with an 8-0 run to mount a 20-13 lead. All eight of those points were earned by the Tigers with six kills, a service ace and a block from Jarome and Wiers.
• For the remainder of the set, Northeastern could only put together back-to-back points once to make it 24-17 in favor of the Tigers. Towson capped the set behind a 6-3 effort, finished with a triple block from Jarome, Mitchell and Cajic for the 25-17 decision.
• The tides favored Northeastern early in the second set as the Huskies took a 5-2 lead out of the gate. Eventually the visitors doubled up on Toson with an 8-4 advantage.
• But the winds shifted quickly in Towson's favor. Trailing 8-4, Towson racked a 15-1 run to take a commanding 19-9 lead. Northeastern's lone point in the way was a Towson service error.
• Late in the set, the sides traded chances but a 3-1 burst from the Tigers finished off the frame 25-14, putting Towson up 2-0 in the match. Cajic had the deciding point in the set.
• Again set three was all Northeastern early but the veteran Tiger team rallied back from an 8-2 hole, chipping away with small two point bursts and limiting Northeastern runs.
• As the Tigers trailed set three 15-12, another long Towson run, this time an 8-1 grouping, put the hosts back up 20-16. Two straight Husky points made it 20-18, but that was the closest Northeastern got the rest of the way.
• Towson picked up its fifth sweep of Northeastern in the last six meetings after a 4-1 run put the Tigers ahead 25-20 with Wiers terminating on match point.

Behind the Numbers

• There was little stopping the Tiger offense from being a versatile group on Sunday. Seven Towson players logged at least one kill, with six of those players scoring multiple kills.
• Wiers and Bakodimou led the way for Towson with nine kills apiece. The pair combined for a .333 hitting percentage, bolstered by Wiers' .450 on the day.
• Jarome had a solid outing as well with her eight kills on 17 errorless swings while Cajic notched another five kills.
• One of the top blocking teams in the country, Towson added another 11 to its season total, scoring nearly four blocks per set. Wiers and Cajic had five blocks apiece, the former all assisted stops while the latter had one solo block with four helped efforts.
• After a slow day on the backline on Saturday, Hess bounced back with 23 digs on Sunday, scooping nearly eight every set, despite the big blockers in front.
• Senior setter Kristin Spengler and grad transfer setter Megan Wilson logged 16 and 10 assists, respectively.
• For the day, Towson hit .290 while limiting Northeastern to just .089. The Huskies hit .179 in the first set, but hit .000 and .091 in sets two and three. Towson came out hot, hitting .316 in the first set, .297 in the second and .250 in the third.
• The Tigers have won six straight matches against Northeastern, dropping just one set in that span, which came in Saturday's third set.
• Towson won its second-straight CAA Regular Season title, paired with the 2019 effort. The CAA did not have a regular season champion in the COVID-19 shortened Spring 2021 campaign.
• Sunday's win was the Tigers' 15th at SECU Arena this fall, bringing the home record to 15-1. It is the most wins for a Towson volleyball team at SECU Arena since the building opened in 2013. The 15 wins are the most for the Tigers in SECU Arena, surpassing the 2014 record of 14-1. Towson is 83-24 all-time at SECU Arena.
• The senior class has won 76 matches during its time at Towson, including a shortened Spring 2021 season with just seven total matches.

Up Next for Towson

• It's back to SECU Arena for the top-seeded Tigers as Towson welcomes five CAA opponents to town for the 2021 CAA Women's Volleyball Championship Presented by Primis.
• Joining Towson will be second-seeded Elon, Charleston, Delaware, Hofstra and Northeastern.
• Match times for the five events next weekend will be as follows - Thursday Quarterfinals: 4p.m. and 6:30 p.m.; Friday Semifinals: 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.; Saturday Championship: 3 p.m.
• All five matches will be carried on FloVolleyball from SECU Arena.