COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Towson University volleyball team finished up the first weekend of volleyball with its second match against the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers (1-1) fell to the Gamecocks (1-1) in four sets 22-25, 25-22, 20-25, 22-25.
 
Irbe Lazda tied a career-high with 17 kills on a .452 hitting percentage while Nina Cajic added 15 kills on a .308 hitting percentage.
 
Key Stats vs South Carolina:

• Towson and South Carolina both finished with a .246 hitting percentage.
• The Tigers had 15 total blocks including five solo blocks.

 
How It Happened vs South Carolina:

• South Carolina scored the first two points, but the Tigers got two kills and a service ace from Victoria Barrett to have a 3-2 edge.
• South Carolina tied the score in the next point, then the Tigers went on a 6-0 run with five kills to take a 9-3 lead and force South Carolina to take a timeout.
• Out of the timeout, Towson continued to grow its lead, then the Gamecocks scored 12 of the following 15 points to take a 22-19 advantage. The teams traded points to end the set as South Carolina won the first set 25-22.
• At the start of the second set, South Carolina jumped out to an 8-6 lead, but the Tigers went on a 9-3 run to have a 15-11 advantage, highlighted by back-to-back kills from Nina Cajic.
• Towson grew the lead to 19-13, but the Gamecocks responded with a 6-1 run to cut the deficit to one.
• The teams battled back and forth, then the Tigers capped off the second set with a kill from Barrett and Irbe Lazda to win the second set 25-22.
• Towson opened the third set with a 4-2 lead, which included two kills from Lazda.
• The Tigers maintained a slim edge until the Gamecocks scored four consecutive points that included back-to-back aces to take a 16-12 advantage.
• Towson knotted up the score at 18 after a 6-2 run by the Tigers led by Barrett's two kills.
• The teams exchanged points, but the Gamecocks finished the third set on a 6-1 run to win the set 25-20.
• The Tigers open the fourth set with the first four points with a kill from Erin Brothers and Lazda each.
• Towson continued to hold on to a narrow lead, then the Tigers scored four straight points to have a 15-10 advantage.
• South Carolina scored eight of the following nine points to take a 20-18 lead. The teams continued to go back and forth with the Gamecocks scoring the final two points to win the final set 25-22.

 
Inside the Numbers vs South Carolina:

• Sarah Jordan had a career-best 36 assists and added ten digs for her third collegiate double-double.
• Victoria Barrett and Nina Cajic each finished with a double-double this afternoon. Cajic had 15 kills and 11 digs while Barrett had 11 kills and digs apiece.
• Erin Brothers finished with six kills with a .667 hitting percentage.
• Irbe Lazda registered a career-best nine digs.

 
Up Next:
The Tigers will travel down the road to play Morgan State on Thursday, August 31st at 6 p.m.