BOX SCORE 1 | BOX SCORE 2 TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University volleyball team opened up their 2022 campaign against Norfolk State and East Carolina at the Pirate Invitational.
 
Towson (2-0, 0-0 CAA) played against Norfolk State (0-2, 0-0 MEAC) in the first match of the day and swept the Spartans, going 25-17, 25-19, 25-13. Towson followed up with a sweep against East Carolina (1-1, 0-0 American) in the second match, going 25-19, 25-17, 25-23.
 
Key Stats vs Norfolk State:

• Towson had 48 total kills with 21 kills occurring in the first set.
• The Tigers registered a .391 hit percentage while holding the Spartans to a .089 percentage.
• Towson had five services aces compared to one for Norfolk State.
• The Tigers set each other up 44 times whereas the Spartans had only 21.

 
How It Happened vs Norfolk State:

• Nina Cajic and Victoria Barrett scored the Tigers first seven points to jump out to a 7-3 lead. After trading kills Towson rattled off four straight kills to extend the lead to 12-5, which prompted a time out by Norfolk State.
• The Tigers and Spartans went back and forth until the end of the set when Towson went on a 4-1 run to take a 25-17 win.
• The second set started with Towson jumping out to a 4-1 lead through two errors, but Norfolk responded with a 4-0 run to take a 5-4 lead.
• The Tigers retook the lead quickly going on a 5-0 run to go up 10-6. Towson maintained a strong lead until the Spartans cut the lead down to two. The teams went back and forth until the Tigers went on a 7-3 run to win the second set 25-19.
• Towson and Norfolk State traded points to start the third set with the Spartans taking a 5-4 lead. The Tigers responded with a 6-0 run including services aces from Morgan Wilson and Barrett to take a 10-5 advantage.
• The Spartans reduced the lead to 12-9 after going on a 4-2 run, but the Tigers closed out the set on 13-4 run including a 6-0 run to win the third set 25-13.

 
Inside the Numbers vs Norfolk State

• Katie McCracken had a career-high 18 assists, while Sarah Jordan had 23 assists in her first collegiate game.
• Nina Cajic led the team with 12 kills while Fay Bakodimou, Lydia Wiers, Victoria Barrett and Aayinde Smith registered six kills apiece.
• Jordan and McCracken led the team in digs with eight while Irbe Lazda had two solo blocks.
• Towson improved to 2-0 all-time against Norfolk State with both wins being 3-0.

 
Key Stats vs East Carolina:

• Towson registered 43 kills across three sets while East Carolina had only 30.
• The Tigers had 42 assists compared to 29 for the Pirates.
• Towson held East Carolina to .145 hit percentage while having a .329 percentage.
• Towson slightly edged the Pirates in digs with a 23-22 advantage.

 
How It Happened vs East Carolina:

• The first set started with both team taking early leads, but the Pirates went on a 3-0 run to take a 5-3 advantage. The teams went back and forth until East Carolina went on another 3-0 run to have a 13-8 lead.
• Towson cut the lead down to 15-13 after going on a 5-2 run, but the Pirates responded with two points to force a timeout by the Tigers.
• Coming out of the timeout, Towson closed out the first set on a 11-2 run to win 25-19 behind multiple errors from Pirates.
• The Tigers started the second set on a 3-0 run on three errors by East Carolina. The Pirates closed the gap to 4-3 but kills from Fay Bakodimou and Nina Cajic gave Towson a 7-3 lead.
• East Carolina went on a 5-2 run to cut Towson's lead to 9-8, but a Cajic kill sparked a 4-0 run to give the Tigers a five point advantage. The Pirates went on a 4-1 run to make the score 14-12.
• The teams traded points to maintain Towson's lead at two, then the Tigers went on an 8-2 run to win the second set 25-17 on Cajic's emphatic kill.
• In the third set, East Carolina jumped out to an early 9-4 lead behind two service aces. Towson returned with an 8-3 run to tie the game at 12.
• The Tigers took a 17-14 lead after going on a 5-3 run, but the Pirates went on a 5-2 run to tie the game at 19. Towson and East Carolina traded one point leads, but the Tigers closed out the game on a 4-2 run to secure a 25-23 set win and sweep the Pirates.  

 
Inside the Numbers vs East Carolina

• Victoria Barrett and Fay Bakodimou each had 10 kills to lead the Tigers.
• Five players had a .500 or better kill percentage with Lydia Wiers going 3-for-3.
• Sarah Jordan led Towson with 20 assists with Katie McCracken added 16.
• The Tigers start the year 2-0 for the fourth straight year.
• Towson improves to 3-0 all-time against East Carolina with all three wins being 3-0.   

 
Next Game:
Towson will wrap up the Pirate Invitational tomorrow at 1 p.m. against Furman.