MATCH STATS
- Towson def. Elon 3-1 (25-18, 25-20, 18-25, 25-23)
- Towson improves to 15-0 (1-0 CAA); Elon falls to 10-5 (0-1 CAA)
- Elon, North Carolina (CAA Match)
- Box Score
Elon, North Carolina – Towson continued its undefeated start to the 2017 season by moving to an undefeated mark in another facet – league play. Every win now, as Towson did in this one improving to 15-0, gives Towson a new school record for best start in school history.
Early it looked like Towson would roll, as they won the first two sets and only had to overcome an Elon lead once – coming early in the first set – as the Tigers were well in control. All of the sudden, things changed in set three as Elon fed off their home crowd to keep things alive by leading through a majority of the set. They led at points in a wild fourth, as there were 15 ties and eight lead changes. That final lead change went Towson’s way though as they would win the last three points to take the match 3-1.
The Towson offense was led by Jocelyn Kuilan who had 15 kills while hitting .387 while Annie Ertz tied for a team-high 11 digs and two blocks in addition to her seven kills. One big advantage for the Tigers was their serve, as Anna Holehouse (three aces) lead Towson’s 7-3 ace advantage.
Elon actually out-hit Towson .260-.245 and had more digs (77-58) as Sydney Busa recorded a double-double with a remarkable 22 kills while hitting .255 and 13 digs. Kam Terry (13 kills, 16 digs) and Kodi Garcia (49 assists, 11 digs) gave the team two more double-doubles and Courtney Carpenter was the third Elon player with double-figure kills (10) as she owned a .421 hitting percentage.
Towson will have to wait one more match before their CAA home-opener as they face William & Mary on the road on Sunday in looking to add to a fantastic start to the season. Elon on the other hand can get pretty comfortable at home as their first four conference matches are in their own gym with Delaware coming to town tomorrow as they showed a lot of potential in the loss.
PRESS RELEASES:
ELON, N.C. – Juniors Jocelyn Kuilan and Carola Bivercombined for 27 kills to lead the Towson University volleyball team to a 3-1 win at Elon University in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) opener for both squads on Friday night. The Tigers, who won their CAA opener for the second straight year, won their 15th straight match.
THE BASICS
Towson 3, Elon 1 (25-18, 25-20, 18-25, 25-23)
Alumni Gym, Elon, N.C.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Trailing 6-5 in the first set, the Tigers (15-0, 1-0 CAA) used a 4-0 run to take a 9-6 advantage. Sophomore Annie Ertz contributed a pair of blocks during that stretch.
- Back-to-back kills from Ertz and Biver pushed the Towson advantage to 12-9 in the first set.
- The two teams battled back-and-forth before a ball handling error by the Phoenix (10-5, 0-1 CAA) gave the visitors a 20-16 lead and forced Elon to call timeout.
- Kills from Kuilan and Biver helped the Tigers close out a 25-18 first set win.
- Back-to-back service aces from redshirt junior Anna Holehouse allowed the Tigers to open up a 4-0 lead in the second set and Elon had to call an early timeout.
- A pair of kills from Ertz and one from Kuilan gave Towson a 13-7 lead in the set.
- A kill from sophomore Silvia Grassini helped the Black and Gold take an 18-13 advantage and the Phoenix used its second timeout.
- Kills from Grassini and Ertz pushed the Towson lead to 21-15 in the second set.
- The Tigers and Phoenix traded points before kills from Kuilan and Biver finished off a 25-20 second set win and gave Towson a 2-0 lead in the match.
- A pair of kills from Kam Terry helped Elon open up a 10-4 lead in the third set.
- A kill from Sydney Busa extended the home team’s lead to 17-11 in the set.
- Elon pushed its lead to 21-11 before the Tigers rattled off seven of the next 10 points and made it 24-18 in the set.
- A kill from Terry gave the Phoenix a 25-18 set win and forced the match to a fourth set with the Tigers leading 2-1.
- The fourth set was the closest of the match as the two squads battled through 15 ties and eight lead changes.
- The two sides traded points early as Holehouse’s service ace gave the Tigers a 16-15 edge in the set.
- Elon responded by scoring three straight and took an 18-16 advantage in the fourth.
- Back-to-back attack errors by the Phoenix allowed Towson to take a 21-20 lead as Elon called timeout.
- Towson trailed 23-22 following a kill from Courtney Carpenter.
- Ertz responded with a kill and a service ace which gave the Tigers a 24-23 edge in the set.
- An attack error by the Phoenix on the next serve gave Towson a 25-23 set win and victory in the match.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Tigers are riding a 15-match win streak currently. The longest win streak in program history is a 16-match streak that the 2001 squad pulled off.
- Towson is one of five undefeated Division I teams in the country (Towson, James Madison, Florida, Miami and Minnesota).
- Towson matched its season-high with seven service aces in the match. Holehouse led the Tigers’ efforts with three.
- Towson hit .245 in the contest while Elon posted a .260 hitting percentage. The Phoenix are just the second team this season to hit .200 or better against the Tigers.
- The Tigers improve to 12-4 in CAA openers and 3-2 in conference openers under head coach Don Metil.
- Kuilan had a team-high 15 kills and six digs in the contest while Biver added 12 kills and five digs.
- Sophomore Marrisa Wonders recorded her ninth double-double of the season with 29 assists and 10 digs while junior Peyton Moyles contributed her fifth double-double with 14 assists and 11 digs.
- Holehouse had nine digs, four assists and three service aces.
- Busa led Elon with 22 kills and 13 digs.
The Tigers are back in action on Sunday, Sept. 24 as they head to William & Mary for a 1 p.m. match.
“We had a slow start, but we picked up our level of play in the second set and continued it throughout the rest of the match,” said Elon head coach Mary Tendler. “I was very happy with our offensive effort and we touched a lot of balls defensively. Towson is a very talented team and did a better job closing out that fourth set.”
With the loss, Elon dropped to 10-5 on the season and 0-1 in CAA play. Towson improved to 15-0 and 1-0 in conference play. The Tigers finished second in the CAA in 2016 and were picked to finish fourth in the conference this year.
THE RUNDOWN
Battling tooth and nail, the Phoenix opened the match winning four of the first six points and led 6-4 before Towson went on a 6-1 run to lead 10-7. The Phoenix responded well and kept the set within two points before, but Tigers clamped down in the closing stages and finished the set on a 9-3 run to win 25-18.
Following a tough start to the second set that forced an Elon timeout after the Tigers won the first four points, the Phoenix pulled its way back to within two at 15-13 after back-to-back kills by Julia Crabtree and Sydney Busa. Towson answered with a 6-2 run to jump back up by six at 21-15 and though Elon again battled back with 5-1 run to trail by just two at 22-20, the Tigers closed the second set with three consecutive points to take a 2-0 lead with the 25-20 win.
Out of the locker room for the third set, Elon put its best comeback effort on display in jumping out to a 10-4 lead to force a Towson timeout. On the other side of the break, Towson was not able to come within four points on multiple occasions, but Elon extended the lead to as many as 10 three times to win the set 25-18.
Looking to force a decisive fifth set, neither side led by more than Elon’s three at multiple points throughout the fourth set. The Phoenix held 10-7 and 11-8 leads before the Tigers brought the set back to a tie down the stretch. Elon was able to pull out to a 20-18 lead in the late stages of the set, but Towson answered with three consecutive points to lead by one and force an Elon timeout. Elon did win each of the ensuing two points out of the break to jump back up by one at 22-21, but Towson closed the match winning four of the final five points to win 25-23.
HIGHLIGHTS
Busa’s match-high 22 kills paced the Phoenix. She recorded her 10th double-double of the season with 13 digs on the night. Kam Terry also recorded her ninth double-double with 13 kills and 16 digs. Courtney Carpenter added 10 kills and finished with a .421 hitting percentage while Kodi Garcia finished with 49 assists (12.25 per set) and 11 digs for her sixth double-double of her freshman campaign. Maddie Jaudon had 20 digs and Erin Kelly added 10 digs off the bench.
Jocelyn Kuilan paced Towson with 15 kills and six digs. She had a .387 hitting percentage in the match. Carola Biver also added 12 kills, five digs, three assists and an ace while Marrisa Wonders posted a 29-assist, 10-dig double-double and Peyton Moyles finished with a 14-assist, 11-dig double-double.
NOTES
-Busa leads the CAA thus far with 10 double-doubles on the season. Terry is close behind in a tie for second with her nine on the year.
-With 1,081 kills in her career, Busa is now 19 away from a tie for 10th-most with Lisa Bumgarner in program history and just 21 away from a ninth-place tie with Britany Westphal.
– Jaudon pushed her career dig total to 1,155, putting her 32 behind Katie Forman for eighth-most in program history. Jaudon is currently alone in ninth place after cracking the Top 10 last weekend.
UP NEXT
The Phoenix will be back in action Saturday night, Sept. 23, when it welcomes Delaware to Alumni Gym for a 7 p.m. match. The Blue Hens opened CAA play on Thursday night, Sept. 21, with a five-set victory over William & Mary. Before the match, Elon will honor Sydel Curry for her contributions to the program over the course of her career from 2013-16 with the Phoenix.
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