Road Warriors: TU takes two

By: Jesse Baird, Staff Writer

Image courtesy of towsontigers.com

Towson earned two road wins against two Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) opponents heading into the homestretch of the regular season.

The Tigers (19-3, 5-3 CAA) defeated the Dukes (14-3, 5-3 CAA) 3-1 behind senior Julymar Otero’s third triple-double of the season Sunday afternoon in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Towson split the first two sets with James Madison, but gained momentum in the second set winning 25-23. The visitors took the next two sets 25-21 and 25-17 to win the match.

The Tigers had a balanced attack, as four players finished with double digit kills. Otero and sophomore Silvia Grassini tied for the lead with 12. They were followed by juniors Carola Biver and Jocelyn Kuilan who registered 11 kills each.

“A big thing for our team has been the even distribution of the ball across the board,” Head Coach Don Metil said. “We are able to catch the other teams off guard when we are not stuck on one player for our production.”

Sophomore Marrisa Wonders had a double-double on the day by recording 20 assists and 16 digs. Redshirt junior Anna Holehouse led the way defensively with 13 digs and seven assists.

The Tigers held the Dukes to a hitting percentage of .197 in the match, making it 16 out 22 opponents that they have held to under .200 hitting percentage.

“One of the biggest areas that needs improvement is our early unforced errors,” Metil said. “Looking at the box score we might have been able to sweep JMU if it was for early errors and adjustments that we had trouble making early in the match.”

Towson began the week with a 3-1 victory Wednesday against arch rival Delaware at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark.

The Tigers won their second match in a row behind a season-high 13 service aces. Grassini leading the way with six of those 13 aces.

The Tigers won their first two sets 25-17 and 25-13, but dropped their third set to the Blue Hens (3-15, 1-7 CAA) 25-21. The visitors bounced back to take the last set 25-21 and win the match.

Kuilan recorded 13 kills while Biver had 11. Otero notched 25 assists, 14 digs and eight kills, falling two kills shy of a triple-double.

Holehouse also had a strong performance. She recorded a match-high 19 digs. Delaware became the 15th team to hit under .200 against Towson. They hit .161 in the match.

Towson continues conference play this weekend as the team returns home to battle Elon and William & Mary at SECU Arena.

Action begins against Elon Friday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 22, against William & Mary at 1 p.m.

“We have a tough set of games coming up with Elon and William & Mary at home,” Metil said. “Our goal all season has been to make post season play and being able to put ourselves a notch above these two teams with a win at home will be one more step towards our goal.”

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