TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University volleyball team continued the Towson Invitational with matches against Radford and Rutgers.
 
Towson (6-0, 0-0 CAA) swept Radford (3-4, 0-0 Big South) 25-17, 25-16, 25-18 in the first match of the day. The Tigers squared off against Rutgers (4-2, 0-0 Big Ten) in a highly contested match that drew the largest crowd for a volleyball match at Towson with 1,012 fans attending. The Tigers won their sixth straight game in dramatic fashion 3-2 (25-18, 22-25, 25-20, 20-25, 15-11).
 
Key Stats vs Radford:

• Towson had 35 kills while Radford totaled 36 kills.
• The Tigers registered a .438 hit percentage compared to Radford's .149 hit percentage.
• Towson had seven blocks compared to zero for the Highlanders.
• Radford compiled 32 digs versus 22 digs for the Tigers.
• Towson had six services aces while the Highlanders registered only one.

 
How It Happened vs Radford:

• Towson jumped out to an early 6-3 lead, but Radford reduced the deficit to one. The Tigers responded with a 7-1 run to take a 17-9 advantage. Radford and Towson went back and forth to the end of the set with the Tigers picking up the win 25-17.
• The Tigers got off to a fast start in the second set with a 6-2 run, but the Highlanders hung in reducing the deficit down to 9-6. Towson responded with a 4-0 run to have a 13-7 lead.
• Radford cut the gap down to four, but the Tigers countered with a 5-1 run to take a 21-13 lead. Both teams exchanged points to close out the second set 25-16.
• The third set started with both teams going back and forth until the Tigers jumped out to a 12-7 advantage behind a 5-0 run that was highlighted by a service ace from Morgan Wilson.
• Towson held on to a slim lead that was brought down to two points, but the Tigers went on a 6-2 run to take 22-16 advantage. The teams traded kills to get to set point and Victoria Barrett sealed the win on an ace to win the frame 25-18.

 
Inside the Numbers vs Radford

• Nina Cajic was the only Tiger to have double digit kills with 10 and had a hit percentage of .556.
• Sarah Jordan led Towson in assists and digs with 20 assists and seven digs.
• Lydia Wiers had five blocks while four Tigers registered two.
• Victoria Barrett filled up the stat sheet with seven kills, five digs, four service aces, two blocks, and tallied a team-high .636 hitting percentage.

 
Key Stats vs Rutgers:

• The Tigers had 55 kills compared to 47 for the Scarlet Knights.
• Towson's defense registered 15 blocks versus 10 for Rutgers.
• The Tigers assisted each other 50 times while the Scarlet Knights had 46.
• Towson registered a season-low in hit percentage with .168 but held Rutgers to only .073 percentage.
• Towson tallied 28 errors versus 35 committed by Rutgers.

 
How It Happened vs Rutgers:

• The first set started with both teams trading slim leads until Towson opened a 16-9 lead on a 7-1 run that included four errors by Rutgers. The Tigers maintained a strong lead, but the Scarlet Knights closed the gap to four. Towson ended the set with three straight points that was kicked off by a Victoria Barrett kill to win 25-18.
• Both teams opened the second set going back and forth with Rutgers taking a 10-7 lead. The Tigers were able to chip away and tie the frame at 12.
• Towson and Rutgers exchanged the lead five times before the Scarlet Knights took control of the set behind a 6-1 run to earn set point. The Tigers made the score 24-22 and forced Rutgers to take a timeout, but an error gave the Scarlet Knights a 25-22 set win.
• The third set was déjà vu with the teams trading small leads until Towson went on a 5-1 run to have a 9-6 advantage. Towson held on to a strong lead extending the advantage to 19-13. The Tigers thwarted multiple comeback attempts by Rutgers to close out the set 25-20.
• The fourth set started off tightly contested with both teams trading the lead. Rutgers held on to a slim lead until the Tigers tied the score at 14.
• The Scarlet Knights took control of the fourth set behind a 7-2 run to open a 21-16 advantage. Towson tried to start a comeback, but Rutgers held on for a 25-20 win.
• In overtime, the teams exchanged the lead four times with Rutgers having an 8-7 advantage when they switched sides.
• Both teams traded points with Rutgers taking a 11-9 lead, but Towson scored six straight points to take the deciding set and clinch their sixth straight win.   

 
Inside the Numbers vs Rutgers:

• Victoria Barrett registered her second double-double with 15 digs and a season-high 15 kills.
• Nina Cajic totaled 12 kills and had .303 hit percentage to finish second in the team in both categories.
• Five Tigers registered four or more blocks with Aayinde Smith having a career-high eight blocks while Lydia Wiers had a season-high six blocks.
• Sarah Jordan had a career-high 25 assists to have five games of 20 or more assists.

 
Next Game:
The Tigers will wrap up the Towson Invitational tomorrow against Morgan State at 1:00 p.m. at SECU Arena.