TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University volleyball team faced off against the Princeton Tigers Friday afternoon and came away victorious 3-1 in an intense match.
 
Towson (4-0, 0-0 CAA) defeated Princeton (1-1, 0-0 Ivy) after dropping the first 23-25, but won three straight sets (25-22, 26-24, 25-22) to win their fourth straight match to open the season.
 
Key Stats vs Princeton:

• Towson registered 10 blocks compared to four by Princeton.
• Towson registered a .214 hit percentage, their lowest of the season, but held Princeton to a .159 hit percentage.
• Towson had nine services aces, with Katie McCracken, Morgan Wilson and Sydney Stewart having three apiece.
• Towson compiled 83 digs versus 77 digs for Princeton.
• Towson had the slight edge in assists with a 58-52 advantage.

 
How It Happened vs Princeton:

• Towson jumped put to an early 4-1 lead over Princeton, but Princeton responded with a 6-3 run to tie the game at seven. The teams traded points until Towson opened a 15-12 lead.
• Towson grew the advantage to 19-15 then Princeton went on a 6-2 run to tie the game up at 21. Towson took a 23-21 lead, but Princeton finished the set on a 4-0 run, including a service ace by Lindsey Kelly to close out the frame.
• Princeton continued their momentum and took an early 5-2 advantage. Towson tied the match at six and took the lead on the following point. Towson maintained a slim lead going back and forth with Princeton in the second set.
• Towson jumped out to their biggest lead of the second set, 19-14, going on a 5-0 that was capped off by a Sydney Stewart ace. Princeton chipped away at the lead until they tied the score at 21. Towson finished on a 4-1 run behind Nina Cajic's two kills to win the second set.
• Both teams went back and forth to open the third set until Princeton opened a 12-9 advantage and maintained a small lead. Towson roared back from 20-16 to tie the score at 20. Princeton regained a two-point lead, but Towson wouldn't go away tying the set at 24.
• Aayinde Smith gave Towson a 25-24 lead on an emphatic kill. On the following play, Coach Don Metil challenged a kill by Princeton. After reviewing the play, the referee overturned the call to give Towson the point and the set.
• The fourth set started close with both teams taking early leads. Towson took an 8-5 lead and maintained a slim lead until Princeton evened the frame at 11.
• Towson jumped back in front on three errors by Princeton, but Princeton fought back and tied the score at 17. Princeton regained a two-point lead, which forced Towson to take a timeout.
• The teams exchanged one-point leads late, but Towson took control at the end with a Lazda kill to seal the victory.

 
Inside the Numbers vs Princeton

• Irbe Lazda tied a career-high in kills with 17 and Nina Cajic also tied a season-high in kills with 12 to lead Towson this afternoon.
• Victoria Barrett registered her first double-double for Towson and the first this year for the Tigers with 22 digs and 12 kills.
• Rachel Hess tallied a season-high 22 digs and Katie McCracken compiled a personal best 11 digs.
• McCracken led Towson with 25 assists, a career-high, while Sarah Jordan added 21 assists.
• Lydia Wiers led the team in blocks with five while both Aayinde Smith and Lazda finished with four
• Towson improved to 5-4 all-time against Princeton, taking their first lead in the all-time series.

 
Next Game:
Towson will continue the Towson Invitational tomorrow with a 10 a.m. game against Radford and a 7 p.m. match versus Rutgers.