TOWSON, Md. -- An abnormally slow start for the Towson University women's volleyball team could not hold the Tigers back for long as Towson picked up its second sweep of the day, topping Florida Atlantic University in straight sets in the Tiger Invitational nightcap.

Towson (10-0) became the first program in the country to reach 10 wins this season as the Tigers stormed past the Owls 25-20, 25-21, 25-17, coupling the night's win with a sweep of Lehigh earlier in the afternoon.

Fay Bakodimou led the Tigers again, knocking down a dozen kills on 24 swings, finishing with a .375 hitting percentage. Emily Jarome finished with an equal number of kills and digs, nine. She tied with libero Rachel Hess in digs for the evening. Towson knocked down eight would-be FAU attacks, led by six from Aayinde Smith.

FAU (7-2) suffered just its second loss of the season, and only sweep for the Owls this year. Klara Zarnovicka finished with a team-best nine kills, but had six errors to finish with a .107 percentage. As a team, FAU hit just .140 for the match, held to a -.026 in the final set. Camryn Vogler grabbed nine digs to tie for a match high.

How it Happened

• Early in the first set, FAU led Towson 8-5 after putting down a block against the Tiger attack, but Towson bounced back with a 6-0 run to grab an 11-8 lead and force FAU to burn a timeout. The final four points of the run came from a Nina Cajic ace, a block from Kristin Spengler and Wiers, followed by kills from Wiers and Bakodimou. 
• Later in the set, FAU took a 17-14 lead after a small run of its own, benefitting from four straight kills and two Tiger attack errors.
• With Towson trailing 18-17, the Tigers strung together a 7-2 run to finish the set off 25-20, capped by a Hess ace, Towson second in the final push with Asia Goins dropping one in as well.
• Set two was tied early and often as the sides deadlocked at one to six before FAU took a 9-6 lead. The Owls built out a four point, 13-9 lead before a Towson timeout. Out of the break, the Tigers notched six unanswered points to take control at 15-13 and did not trail the rest of the way. 
• Towson went up 20-15, with FAU scoring six points in the final 11 chances of the set before Towson slammed the door 25-21 with a Bakodimou kill.
• Unlike the first two sets, the third frame was all Towson and in a hurry as the Tigers jumped up 6-1 before FAU had to call an early timeout. The pause worked briefly before Towson scored another two points for an 8-2 lead. Down but still fighting, the Owls pulled back within a point of the Tigers' 10-9 lead. 
• Midway through the third, Towson connected a 5-1 run for a 17-12 advantage and kept the Owls at bay the rest of the way, tagging FAU for four of the final five points of the evening and a 25-17 set win.

=Behind the Numbers

• Bakodimou led Towson's attack with her 12 kills and .375 hitting percentage. Spengler added two kills on the setter dump while posting 21 assists to lead the match. 
• Proving to be one of the country's top serving teams, Cajic, Goins and Hess all scored two service aces, bringing the Tigers season total to 74. Towson has allowed just 41 service aces this season, with FAU only scoring two, the only two Towson allowed in six sets at SECU Arena on Friday.
• Smith turned in a season-best six block assists, one shy of her career high set earlier in Spring 2021 against tomorrow's first opponent, Temple.
• Jarome and Hess tracked down nine digs each, while the former accounted for nine kills as well. Hess added three assists to her day.
• The Tigers ran their winning streak out to 34, dating back to mid-September 2019
• Towson won its 74th match all-time at SECU Arena.
• Friday night's victory was the Tigers' first against FAU in three total tries; it was the first meeting between programs since the 1997 campaign.
• Towson won its 21st straight match at SECU Arena, dating back to a 2019 sweep of UAlbany.

Up Next for Towson

• It's a quick turnaround for the Tigers as Towson hosts Temple Saturday morning.
• First serve is set for 10 a.m. at SECU Arena for the second meeting between the programs in 2021.
• Towson won 3-1 in Philadelphia earlier this year.
• The Tigers play a second match Saturday afternoon against Norfolk State at 4:30 p.m.
• Both matches will be carried on FloVolleyball with Ryan McGettigan on the call.