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Nina Cajic at James Madison
3
Winner Towson Towson 22-4,10-4 CAA
1
James Madison JMU 16-6,10-4 CAA
Winner
Towson Towson
22-4,10-4 CAA
3
Final
1
James Madison JMU
16-6,10-4 CAA
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Towson Towson 25 22 25 25 (3)
James Madison JMU 16 25 15 20 (1)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | John Stark

Cajic’s Career Day Leads Tigers to Revenge Win

HARRISONBURG, Va. -- Behind a career-best 19 kills from sophomore opposite hitter Nina Cajic, the Towson University women's volleyball team picked up a revenge win on the road at James Madison University on Sunday.

Bouncing back from a sweep on Saturday, the Tigers picked up the 3-1 (25-16, 22-25, 25-15, 25-20) win in the final Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) match between the league powerhouses.

Towson (22-4, 10-4 CAA) was paced by Cajic's .567 hitting as she put away 19 kills on 30 swings with just two errors. Emily Jarome joined her in double figures with 13 kills while Fay Bakodimou notched 11. The Tigers hit for .362 in the match while holding the Dukes to .164 thanks to 11 total blocks, including six from Nikiya Mitchell.

James Madison (16-6, 10-4 CAA) had 15 kills from Miëtte Veldman, who was limited to a .116 percentage with 43 swings but 10 errors. Middle blocker Sophia Davis was second for the Dukes with 11 kills and three blocks.

How it Happened
  • Like it did on Saturday, Towson jumped out to a fast 8-3 lead in the opening set, including a 5-2 run quickly aided by two kills from Bakodimou and one from Cajic and Lydia Wiers.
  • The Tigers held the Dukes at arm's length, even as JMU pulled within 11-7 of Towson. From there, Towson went on a 6-1 run to a 17-8 lead and pushed the Dukes into a timeout. The Tigers nearly doubled up on James Madison, holding a 21-12 lead with another Bakodimou kill. Towson finished off the opening set with a 3-1 run, capped by a Duke's attack error for the 25-16 decision.
  • Set two was tight early and often as the sides traded 11 ties and five lead changes through the whole frame. The Tigers led 8-6 but the Dukes went on a 3-0 run for a 9-8 advantage. Towson strung together a 5-1 burst to grab a 13-10 lead, but an eventual surge from the hosts tied the set at 16-16.
  • With action tied 21-21 in the second, James Madison reeled off a 4-1 run to tie the match behind the 25-22 set two win.
  • The third set was another back and forth frame early with nine ties by the time it was 11-11. But from there, it was all Towson as the Tigers ripped off a 14-4 run to finish the set and go up 2-1 with a 25-15 decision. In that stretch, Towson kicked off with a 5-0 run, weathering two James Madison timeouts in the process.
  • After the Dukes halted the unanswered run, Towson put together another 6-1 burst to push the lead to 22-13, a run that featured blocks from Wiers, Lazda and Mitchell coupled by a pair of Jarome kills.
  • For a second time in the match, Towson finished a set with a 3-1 flourish, taking the frame 25-15.
  • Early in the fourth, Towson fell behind by three points several times, including an 8-5 JMU lead. The Tigers knocked down a 4-0 run to take a 9-8 lead. The teams traded the lead several times before JMU took a 15-12 lead.
  • But a 6-1 spark from the Tigers put Towson ahead 18-16, a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the way. 
  • As Towson inched closer to match point, James Madison made things interesting and pulled back to a 21-19 Towson lead.
  • As before on Sunday, the Tigers finished strong with a 4-1 run for the 25-20 win, with Cajic increasing her career-best day to 19 kills with the match point.
Behind the Numbers
  • Cajic put together a 19-kill afternoon, besting her previous career high of 15, which she accomplished twice including in a five setter against Loyola University Maryland earlier this season.
  • Jarome batted down 13 kills, bringing her career total to 991 kills in four seasons. Bakodimou notched another 11 kills on the day.
  • Kristin Spengler led the Tigers with 28 assists while Megan Wilson chipped in 18. Irbe Lazda, paired with Wilson, had nine kills on the day.
  • Mitchell continued her run of strong defense, finishing six total blocks, including two solo stuffs. Lazda and Wiers added another five each as well.
  • For the match, Towson hit for .362, including two sets with a .400 or better. Towson did not hit below .323 for a set on Sunday.
  • The Tigers continued to bounce back from wins, and have not dropped back-to-back matches since September 2018.
  • Sunday's match was the final CAA clash between Towson and James Madison before the Dukes transition to the Sun Belt Conference.
Up Next for Towson
  • The Tigers cap the regular season next weekend at SECU Arena.
  • Towson takes on Northeastern University for a pair on Saturday and Sunday, including Senior Day on Sunday.
  • Both matches will be carried on FloVolleyball and feature noon first serves.
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