BLACKSBURG, Va. – Juniors Katy Buck and Dayane Van Ass had 14 kills each to lead the Towson University volleyball team to a 3-0 win over Harvard and a split of the team’s matches on Saturday at the Hokie Classic. In their first match on Saturday, the Tigers (6-2) fell to Middle Tennessee, 3-1.
Buck was named to the all-tournament team after recording 37 kills, hit .302 and recorded 23 digs in the three matches..
In the first set against the Blue Raiders (3-3) a couple of kills with a few Tiger errors allowed Middle Tennessee to take a 16-10 lead. Senior Marta Machos and Buck rattled off four straight kills to bring the Tigers to within 16-14. Middle Tennessee held off the late Towson run to win the first set 25-20. There were six ties in the second set, however the Blue Raiders hit .364 to Towson’s .294 and claimed the 26-24 set win and a 2-0 advantage in the match. The Tigers put together a strong third set as they hit .364 en route to a 25-20 set win. The fourth set was again a back and forth match-up as there were six ties and four lead changes. Middle Tennessee claimed the 25-16 set win and took the match, 3-1.
Senior Alysha McCreary hit .625 in the match to go along with her kills and had four block assists. Buck finished with 14 kills and six digs while Van Ass came off the bench to post 10 kills. Senior Aubrey Kirven contributed 46 assists and four digs while sophomore Paige Sekerak had 11 digs.
Chelsea Ross led the Blue Raiders with 23 kills and nine digs while Ashley Adams had 13 kills.
In the match against Harvard, the two teams found themselves tied at 16-16. A pair of kills from Van Ass and one from I’ishah Keliikoa allowed Towson to close the set on a 9-2 run and post a 25-18 win. The Tigers trailed 24-22 in the second set before recording the final four kills of the set, including the deciding one from Buck to take a 26-24 win. Towson held a 2-0 lead in the match following that set. In the third set tied at 14-14, Towson used a 6-0 run to take a 20-14 lead. Buck had three kills during the run for the Tigers. A kill from senior Karolina Sawaniewicz allowed the Tigers to win the third set 25-16 and claim victory in the match.
Buck had nine digs against Harvard to go along with her 14 kills. Van Ass hit .379 en route to her 14 kills while Sawanieiwicz finished with 12 kills. Kirven contributed a “double-double” with 44 assists and 12 digs while senior Stacey Niehoff had 10 digs.
Taylor Docter led Harvard with 11 kills.
Towson returns to action on Friday, September 7 when the Tigers face Texas Tech in the first match of the Montana Tournament.
