TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University volleyball team wrapped up the Panther Challenge with two games on Saturday. Towson (10-0) swept American (6-2) 26-24, 25-22, 25-22 in a heavily contested match. The Tigers squared off against #7 Pittsburgh (7-2) in the final match of the day and knocked off the Panthers in four sets, 25-12, 25-23, 16-25, 25-18. Coach Don Metil passed Cathy Cain for the most wins all-time in Towson volleyball history with 202. This is the first time Towson has beat a ranked program in their history.
 
Key Stats vs American:

• Towson had 15 or more kills in three sets including 20 in the final set.
• The Tigers gave up their highest hit percentage of the season with a .294.
• Towson had three service aces compared to zero for the Eagles.
• The Tigers registered 46 digs, but American had 52.
• Towson compiled 47 assists, the third highest this season.

 
How It Happened vs American:

• American jumped out to a 5-2 lead on four kills by Zeynep Uzen, but Towson was able to tie the score at six behind a 4-1 run. The Eagles countered with five straight points to go up 11-6.
• Towson was able to chip away at the lead and tie the game at 14. The teams traded kills until American opened an 18-16 advantage. The teams went back and forth, then Towson scored four straight points, including an ace from Fay Bakodimou and two kills by Victoria Barrett, to take a 22-20 lead.
• The Eagles responded with four straight points themselves to have set point, but the Tigers fought off two set points and scored four consecutive points to win the first set 26-24.
• The second set started with a 4-2 lead by American, then Towson scored five straight to have a 7-4 lead. The Eagles quickly tied the score at nine and soon regained a one point through an Uzen kill. The Tigers scored six consecutive points with four different players registering a kill in the run to take a 16-11 lead.
• American responded with a 5-1 run to cut the deficit to one, but Towson went on their own 5-1 run to restore the lead to 22-17. The Eagles were able to reduce the lead to two, but the Tigers were able to hold on and win the second set 25-22 on Irbe Lazda's kill.
• This time the Tigers jumped out to an early lead going up 5-2, but American tied the frame at six. Towson went on a 4-1 run to have a 10-7 lead, but the Eagles countered with a 7-1 run to take a 14-12 lead.
• The Tigers then went on a 7-2 run to go ahead 19-16 with Barrett having three kills. The Eagles were able to cut their deficit to one multiple times, but Towson held on and finished strong to capture their ninth straight victory.

 
Inside the Numbers vs American:

• Fay Bakodimou had 13 digs, a career-high, six kills and one service ace.
• Katie McCracken had a career-high 26 assists, her third time having 20 or more assists. She added eight digs and one kill.
• Victoria Barrett totaled 14 kills, five digs, a .379 hit percentage and two block assists.
• Irbe Lazda registered double digit kills for the third time this year with 11, adding two block assists and one dig.
• Sarah Jordan had 17 assists and one service ace to have three straight matches with an ace.

 
Key Stats vs Pittsburgh:

• The Tigers had 16 blocks while the Panthers had only three.
• Towson's defense held Pittsburgh to .224 hit percentage, their third lowest percentage of the season.
• The Tigers assisted each other 51 times, the second highest total this year.
• Towson had eight service aces, their second most this season, while the Panthers had only two.
• The Tigers had 51 kills, the third time Towson had 50 or more kills this season.

 
How It Happened vs Pittsburgh:

• The Tigers opened the match with a 4-3 lead, then scored eight unanswered points that was highlighted by two Victoria Barrett kills and a service ace by Sarah Jordan. Pittsburgh got two kills by Sabrina Starks, but Towson scored three points in a row on two attack errors by the Panthers to have a 16-5 lead.
• The Panthers traded kills with the Tigers, but Towson grew their advantage to 14, their largest lead of the match. Pittsburgh got the deficit down to ten, but Barrett's three kills and Nina Cajic's third kill of the set secured a 25-12 set win.
• Towson started the second set with an 8-4 lead behind Jordan's two service aces. The Panthers chipped away until they tied the frame at 12. The teams exchanged points. Then the Tigers scored three straight points to take a 16-13 lead.
• Pittsburgh countered with a 5-1 run to regain a one point lead. The teams went back and forth with the score being tied five times before Towson took control on an Aayinde Smith kill and a Morgan Wilson service ace to have a 24-22 lead. Pittsburgh got a kill from Lexis Akeo, but Fay Bakodimou won the second set on a kill set up by Jordan to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
• The Panthers opened an 8-3 lead to start the third set. The Tigers were able to cut the deficit down to three, but Pittsburgh scored three unanswered to go up 11-5. Towson responded with a 5-2 run to bring the lead back down to three, then the Panthers took control of the set with a 7-2 run.
• Towson fought back and reduced the deficit to six, but Pittsburgh responded with three consecutive points to have a 23-14 advantage. The teams traded points and the Panthers won their only set 25-16.
• The Tigers started the fourth set with a 4-1 lead, then Pittsburgh went on their own 4-1 run to tie the frame at five. Towson opened a three point lead behind two kills from Barrett and held off the Panthers attempts to tie the game.
• Towson held on a 16-14 lead, then controlled the final set with five unanswered points to jump out to a 21-14 lead. Pittsburgh fought back and brought their deficit down to five, but kills from Irbe Lazda and Bakodimou closed out the set and gave the Tigers their 10th straight victory to open the season.   

 
Inside the Numbers vs Pittsburgh:

• Victoria Barrett registered a season-high 16 kills on a .520 hit percentage with six digs and three assists.
• Irbe Lazda extends her streak of double digit kills to three with 14 kills and adds six blocks.
• Rachel Hess led the Tigers in digs with 10 to have double digit digs in four of her last five matches.
• Katie McCracken totaled 22 assists with four digs while Sarah Jordan had 19 assists and three service aces.
• Aayinde Smith tied her season-high in total blocks with eight while Nina Cajic set a career-high in total blocks with seven.

 
Next Game:
The Tigers will welcome CAA newcomers Hampton to open conference play on Sept.17-18 at SECU Arena.