TOWSON, Md. -- It took a little while to get things going for the Towson University women's volleyball team, but the Tigers heated up, working to a third-straight sweep of the weekend, this time over Temple University in the first match for day two of the Tiger Invitational.

Towson (11-0) picked up its second win of 2021 over the Owls, putting away a 25-18, 25-22, 25-11 sweep. Towson rallied past Temple in the first two sets before controlling the action through the entire third set.

Fay Bakodimou led Towson's offense, putting down 13 kills at a .375 rate. Emily Jarome, Nina Cajic and Sara Wasiakowska all scored seven kills. Nikiya Mitchell aided seven blocks in the morning session, as Kristin Spengler turned in a double-double of 17 assists and 15 digs.

Temple (2-5) was paced by Gem Grimshaw, who had eight kills but hit with a .094 percentage with five errors on 32 swings. She added a team-best 10 digs as well. Patrycja Zielinska put up 13 assists for the Owls in their penultimate match of Tiger Invitational.

How it Happened

• Temple jumped out to a 5-2 lead early in the first set before the Tigers rallied back with a 4-0 run to take a 6-5 lead. Ties and lead changes highlighted the middle portion of the opener, including a 17-17 deadlock before Towson ripped off a patented 8-1 run to win the set 25-18. 
• The Tigers capped the set with a 4-0 run, scoring four ways with a Mitchell block, Ally Townsend ace, Temple attack error and a setter dump from Spengler.
• Set two was nearly a copy-paste of the first as Temple took a 5-1 lead quickly, including a 4-0 run to start things. Towson responded with a 5-0 run of its own for a 6-5 edge thanks to a pair of kills from Lydia Wiers.
• Temple stormed back to take a 9-6 lead before Towson again answered to tie it 9-9. A 5-1 Temple run gave the Owls their largest lead of the set, going up 14-10 and eventually 17-13.
• Thanks to a 6-0 surge from Towson, the Tigers regained a 20-19 lead before back-to-back points put Temple on top 21-20. Towson finished with a 5-1 flourish, capped with a hat trick from Bakodimou for the 25-22 set win and a 2-0 lead in the match.
• Flipping the script, Towson came out on fire in the third set, taking a 6-1 lead in the first seven points, including a 4-0 run to start the action.
• Temple struggled to get its offense going as a 10-2 Towson run saw the hosts leading 17-6 late in the third. Temple connected in a 3-0 run to trim the Tigers lead to 17-9, but Towson shut down a would-be rally, putting up an 8-2 for the sweep thanks to a 25-11 decision in the third.

Behind the Numbers

• Towson put away eight blocks, with Mitchell aiding on seven of those stops. One of the top defenses in Division I, Towson held Temple to a .073 hitting percentage, the sixth time this season Towson has limited an opponent below 10 percent hitting efficiency.
• The Tigers, conversely, hit for .315, including a .419 percentage in the opening set. Bakodimou led Towson with 13 kills while the triumvirate of Wiers, Cajic and Wasiakowska put away seven kills.
• Spengler posted a double-double with 17 assists and a match-high 15 digs. Megan Wilson added 13 assists for the Tigers as well.
• Mitchell tied a career-best with seven assists, equaling her mark set against William & Mary late in the 2019 season.
• Towson improved to 3-5 all-time against Temple, picking up its second-straight win over the Owls, both coming in the 2021 calendar year. Towson won in four sets in Philadelphia back in February.
• The Tigers ran their winning streak out to 35, dating back to mid-September 2019.
• Towson won its 74th match all-time at SECU Arena.
• Towson won its 22nd straight match at SECU Arena, dating back to a 2019 sweep of UAlbany.

Up Next for Towson

• The Tigers round out their two-weekend homestand with a 4 p.m. match against Norfolk State University.
• Saturday's Towson finale will be carried on FloVolleyball.