Volleyball Downs Towson in Five-Set Thriller

Friday, September 22

Towson, Md.

7 PM

University of Delaware

9-2,2-1CAA

Towson

9-4,2-1CAA

Delaware

Towson

Photo by: NIC TERRY PRODUCTIONS

9/22/2023 10:50:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

TOWSON, Md. - The most anticipated CAA volleyball matchup took place Friday evening in Towson, Md. as it was a rematch of the title game between the University of Delaware and the four-time defending conference champions Towson (9-4, 2-1 CAA) inside SECU Arena. With a chip on their shoulder heading into the matchup, Delaware (9-2, 2-1 CAA) prevailed over the Tigers to capture the five-set thrilling road victory (26-24, 18-25, 25-20, 18-25, 15-11).

With the win, Delaware snapped a 14-match losing streak against Towson. This is also the first win Delaware earned on Towson's home court since the 2016 campaign where the Blue Hens swept the Tigers in straight-sets on Oct. 26. The last time Delaware claimed a five-set victory over Towson was during the 2015 season on Oct. 21 in Towson, Md.

COACH'S QUOTE

I'm so incredibly proud of this group," said Kimberly Lambert. "We entered tonight's match fully aware of the challenge ahead but we stayed committed to our game plan. We left everything out there on the floor tonight. We stayed the course, we stayed aggressive and made the necessary adjustments when Towson was determined to start a rally - and for that we ended up on the winning side. Tonight, we are going to enjoy this but we will be right back to work to prepare for Sunday's match.

HEN HIGHLIGHTS

Attacking at a season-best .606 clip in set three, Delaware finished the evening swinging at a rate of .294 compared to Towson's .269.
The Blue Hens led the way in:
- Points (80-77)
- Kills (67-63)
- Blocks (9-8)
- Digs (69-56)
The Tigers held the edge in:
- Aces (6-4)
- Assists (60-56)
Lani Mason set a new season-best with 22 kills swinging at a .250 clip. She posted her sixth double-double on the season after scooping up 12 digs to go along with three block assists.
Madelyn Grunza followed behind Mason by tying her career-high 14 kills, attacking at a rate of .303, to go with six digs and four block assists.
Kirah Johnson buried 13 kills, hitting at a .571 clip, and had three block assists.
Leading the charge defensively was Savannah Seemans as she registered 20 digs to go with seven kills and three aces.
Ezgi Basaranlar led the Blue Hen offense with 42 assists and posted her third double-double of the season with 16 digs.
Eileen Gex helped anchor the back row with 10 digs while Asia Murray was a brick wall for the Blue Hens with five block assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST SET

Delaware took set one after outhitting the hosts .222 to .154.
Both teams kept things close as the SECU Arena fans saw four lead changes and six ties.
The Blue Hens called a much-needed timeout after the Tigers took a 22-20 lead.
Murray finished off a feed from Basaranlar to ignite a 6-2 spurt, headlined by Seemans serving the last three points to give Delaware the 26-24 set one victory.

SECOND SET

Delaware held a brief three point lead after Grunza put away Basaranlar's pass, 10-7.
Towson then went on a 6-1 run to regain the lead for good and cruise to a 25-18 set two win.

THIRD SET

Delaware was determined to take set three and did so by opening things up with a 7-3 run capped by a Seemans' kill.
The Tigers trimmed the deficit to one, 8-7, before Grunza put another one away to kickstart a 6-2 run putting the Blue Hens up by five, 14-9.
Delaware remained in the driver's seat throughout the third stanza even when Towson was able to pull within three, 23-20.
Mason nailed one down to give the Blue Hens set point before benefiting off of a Zyare Abdul-Rahim attacking error, 25-20.

FOURTH SET

With the goal of pushing the match to the fifth deciding set, Towson responded with an 8-3 run to start the fourth.
The Tigers remained in control only allowing the Blue Hens to get in as close as three, 19-16.
Towson used a 6-2 run to close out set four and send the match into the deciding set, 25-18.

FIFTH SET

Delaware, heading into its second fifth-set match of the season, put its foot on the gas and never looked back.
Seemans' ace started a 7-3 Blue Hen run and the Tigers responded right back and pulled within two, 10-8.
The Blue Hens lead went back up to four, 13-9, thanks to a Mason kill.
With the scoreboard showing 13-10, the Blue Hen blocking trio of Grunza, Mason and Murray rose up and sent away Victoria Barrett's attempt giving the team match point.
Barrett answered back with a kill of her own to keep Towson alive before a service error by Nina Cajic settled the 15-10 final.

UP NEXT
Delaware will remain on the road and will face Towson again on Sunday, Sept. 24 at 2 p.m. in Towson, Md. inside SECU Arena.

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