Towson kicks off CAA play, sweeps Northeastern

By Kylie Jones, Sports Editor and Jack Ahumada, Contributing Writer 

Towson kept their composure during a shutout victory against the Northeastern Huskies on Sept. 16.

The teams opened with a consistent back-and-forth during the first set, with the Tigers gaining a slim 10-7 advantage early on.

Towson found its groove with an 11-point run, including three kills from freshman middle blocker Clara Vorel, to take an 18-10 lead over Northeastern.

“We had to start Clara today because she can kind of spread our offense out,” head coach Don Metil said. “She was dynamic, right? She hit like .500 in the first set.” 

 A kill from Northeastern’s Brynn Smyth ended the Tigers’ scoring streak, but Towson’s sophomore opposite hitter Anna Rice delivered a kill to start another run. Rice capped the 7-3 run with a service ace to win the set 25-13.

“This is our first time running a 5-1 because of injuries. We’re just a little bit depleted right now,” Metil said. “We’re kind of piecing this together as we go.”

Vorel opened up second set scoring and Towson kept things rolling with three consecutive kills. Outside hitter Taylor Pagan added a service ace to cap the 4-0 start to the set. 

The Huskies added a lone point, but Towson responded with a 5-1 run, including a service ace from Rice and a kill from middle Kaitlyn Moran. 

“We have a very young team, so they like to get really frantic,” Moran said. “It’s constantly reminding each other, like, deep breath, we’re better than them.”

The teams continued to battle, each taking turns holding the lead. As Towson fought to stay ahead, a series of costly errors allowed Northeastern to gain momentum. 

“We can’t be that generous of a team. I always joke around that we score all of our points and more than half of yours,” Metil said. 

After a brief back-and-forth, the Tigers managed to deliver three timely kills, including two from Rice, that won the set 28-26. 

The third set opened similarly to the first with an exchange of points between the teams. 

With the set tied 7-7, a service error by the Huskies sparked an 8-3 Towson run, including two consecutive service aces by freshmen outside hitter Evi Priniotaki.

Two back-to-back kills and a block by Rice midway through the set gave Towson a five point lead over the Huskies.

Northeastern attempted to close the gap, with three uninterrupted points, but Towson prevailed, keeping a narrow lead on the Huskies until the end of the set.

The Tigers had three consecutive points  to end the final set of the match, winning the set 25-19 and sweeping Northeastern.

Moran had a career-high 38 assists in the victory. She also added seven digs, four kills and a service ace.

“Once I got into the flow of things and I started relying on my teammates and my hitters to get the kills, it was really nice,” Moran said.

Rice led both teams with 13 kills. Vorel added eight kills, two digs and five blocks. 

After the series against Northeastern wraps up, Towson is slated to take on Charleston on the road on Friday at 6 p.m.