Towson volleyball falls to CAA newcomer at home

By Courtney Ott, Sports Editor

Towson volleyball lost only their fifth game at home since 2019 under head coach Don Metil, and it wasn’t pretty.

Campbell (5-3 in-conference) was shut out by Towson in Saturday’s game but switched roles in Sunday’s game, winning 3-0. Towson (5-1 in-conference) struggled to generate plays on offense and couldn’t hold up a front on the defensive end.

“We came out uninspired,” said Metil. “We’ve had that target on our back all year long, and everybody has tried to hit an arrow at that bull’s eye and kudos to Campbell today because they did that.”

Towson started off to a slow start and found themselves trailing 10-4 in the first set. The Tigers lost their first set of the weekend to Campbell 25-18. Outside hitter Victoria Barrett led Towson in kills with four, but it wasn’t enough to get the offense going.

Towson started off on the right foot in the second set, leading 8-5, but Campbell was able to crawl back into it, going on a four-point streak to take the lead by two. Towson was able to catch back up with a kill from Barrett to trail by one, but the Camels broke away again at 13-10, causing Metil to call a timeout. 

The timeout seemed to help pull the Tigers together. Towson went on a four-point streak with the help of outside hitter Nina Cajic’s ace to take the lead by one at 14. Outside hitter Irbe Lazda also contributed to the offensive run with a kill of her own, but again, Campbell found their way back into the match to take the lead 18-17.

The second set ended in a neck-and-neck battle between the two teams, but the Camels came out on top 27-25. Towson’s offense generated more kills in the second set at 16 and only had four errors compared to the first set’s eight. Barrett maintained the team’s leader in kills at 14. 

“This entire week we were talking about this is a team that’s a really good day two team. Every pivotal match they won in-conference, they won on the second day of the matchup between two teams,” said Metil. “So you know, we can tell this team as much as we want about what we need to do, but unless they come out inspired and believe they have to play better, we’re going to find ourselves in these situations.”

Towson and Campbell were going back and forth in the third set, and the Tigers found themselves in a hole at 22-18. Towson was able to come back into the match at 23-20, but the Camels held up a strong front to secure the win.

The Tiger’s next game will be against UNCW on Oct. 14 at 4 p.m. on the road.

Courtney Ott

Courtney Ott currently serves as the Senior and Sports Editor of The Towerlight. Previously, she served as the Deputy Sports Editor and wrote for the HCC Times.