TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University volleyball team opened the Cougar Challenge with the #8 BYU Cougars on Thursday afternoon. The Tigers (6-2) fell to the Cougars (7-0) in four sets, 20-25, 23-25, 25-14, 22-25.
Irbe Lazda tied a career-best with 17 kills and five total blocks, while
Nina Cajic had 12 kills on .310 hitting percentage and added six digs.
Key Stats vs BYU:
- Towson held the Cougars to a season-low .176 hitting percentage.
- The Tigers had a season-high 17 service errors.
How It Happened vs BYU:
- BYU opened the first set with a 5-2 run with two kills by Mia Lee and Erin Livingston.
- The Cougars maintained a consistent lead, but the Tigers went on a 4-1 run to trail BYU 11-10.
- BYU responded with five consecutive points to have a 16-10 advantage.
- The Tigers got consecutive points, but the Cougars grew their lead to 23-15 after a 7-3 run.
- Towson would not back down, scoring four straight points that included a kill and a service ace from Victoria Barrett to trail by only four, but BYU scored two of the following three points to take the first set 25-20.
- The Tigers jumped out to a 6-2 lead to start the second set led by Irbe Lazda's three kills.
- The Cougars responded with a 5-1 run to knot the score at eight apiece.
- Aayinde Smith got a kill and a service ace to give Towson a 9-7 edge, but BYU countered with five consecutive points.
- Towson regained the lead after a 5-1 run that saw kills from Barrett and Sarah Jordan.
- BYU went on a 4-1 run to take a 17-15 lead after three consecutive errors by the Tigers.
- The Cougars maintained a consistent lead, but Towson got back-to-back kills from Lazda to trail by one.
- The teams traded late points, but BYU took the second set 25-23 on a Livingston kill.
- The Cougars opened the third set with a 5-2 run and held on to a narrow lead as the teams went back and forth.
- Towson took control of the set with a 13-1 run that included back-to-back aces from Barrett to have a 21-11 advantage.
- Towson scored four of the following seven points to take the third set 25-14, snapping BYU's 13 consecutive set streak.
- The fourth set started with both teams going back and forth trading points, then the Cougars went on a 5-1 run to take an 8-4 lead.
- The Tigers trailed by one twice, but BYU had an answer each time, including a 5-1 run to take a 16-11 advantage.
- BYU maintained a steady lead, then four straight errors by the Cougars cut Towson's deficit down to one, 22-21.
- BYU got three consecutive kills to reach match point, then back-to-back points by Towson kept the match going.
- Erin Livingston's 15th kill sealed the set 25-22 and gave BYU its seventh straight win.
Inside the Numbers vs BYU:
- BYU had not dropped a set since the Cougars lost the second set to Montana on August 26th.
- Towson held the Cougars to a -.129 hitting percentage in the third set.
- Sarah Jordan registered her third double-double this season with 25 assists and 12 digs.
- Irbe Lazda finished with double-digit kills for the sixth time this season.
Up Next:
The Tigers take on the host #13 Washington State later tonight at 11 p.m. ET on Pac-12 Insider.