Tigers Dominate Huskies in Straight Sets, with Standout Performances by Barrett and De Mango
By: Kylie Jones, Contributing Writer
Coming off of a win on the road against Elon, the Tigers headed back home to face off against the Northeastern Huskies. Northeastern has managed an 8-12 overall record, while Towson boasts their 18-4 record, and heads into the game with the highest winning percentage in the conference at .818. The Tigers continued their undefeated winning streak at home as they downed the Huskies in straight sets.
The first set started off strong for Towson, with three straight kills to begin the game. The Huskies tried to battle back, and were able to gain points off of a number of errors by the Tigers. The Tigers didn’t back down, however, and rose to a 13-6 lead as the Huskies took to timeout.
After the Huskies timeout, they brought themselves within four of the Tigers with a score of 15-11. The two teams battled back and forth with exciting volleys for both sides, but the Tigers were able to bounce back thanks to the 8 kill performance by CAA Player of the Week, Victoria Barrett. Towson took the first set with a score of 25-18.
When asked about going into the second set after multiple errors for the Tigers, Victoria Barrett says, “We knew we had to make better decisions. We had to manage the ball better, even if it wasn’t where we wanted it to be.”
The Tigers looked for a cleaner second set, but found themselves in a battle with the Huskies. Towson would take the edge over Northeastern, though, after a pair of kills by Victoria Barrett and two errors by the Huskies that brought the score to 8-4.
After another timeout by Northeastern, Towson ran with the lead. With a service ace by Maisie Jesse and a number of kills split between the Tigers, Towson finally seemed energized and looked to take the second set for themselves.
The Tigers closed out the second set with a score of 25-15, with impressive performances by Victoria Barrett And Ylenia De Mango who led the team in kills during both sets.
The Tigers started off hot in the third set, taking the early 3-0 lead. The Huskies didn’t let that stop them, however, as they fought back to a 6-6 draw. With key kills by Sarah Callender and Erin Brothers, along with errors on Northeastern’s side, Towson was able to take the lead again with a score of 11-6.
The battle continued, but the Tigers remained on top. Towson would go on another 3-0 run as they looked to finish the set, but the Huskies answered with a 5-0 run bringing the score to 24-20. The Huskies fought hard, but the Tigers took the first match of the weekend against Northeastern in straight sets with a final set score of 25-20.
Towson’s leaders were setter Maisie Jesse with 21 assists, libero Sydney Stewert with 16 digs, middle blocker Ylenia De Mango with five blocks, and middle blocker Erin Brothers with a .571 hitting percentage. Towson’s own Victoria Barrett had a standout performance totaling 17 kills, 36 attacks, and adding 19 points for Towson.
Coming off of her CAA Player of the Week announcement, Barrett says she remains focused.
“It’s not my goal to go out there and win the award. I am focused on maintaining the standards we set for ourselves and always executing well.”
The Tigers, who are now 19-4, look to continue their weekend winnings as they take on Northeastern for their second match tomorrow, Nov. 3 at 2 p.m.
