Volleyball Back in CAA Championship Match After Semifinal Win Over Towson

Friday, November 22

Towson, MD

6 PM

University of Delaware

20-6,15-3CAA

No. 3 Towson

24-6,14-4CAA

Towson

Delaware

Photo by: NIC TERRY PRODUCTIONS

Volleyball Back in CAA Championship Match After Semifinal Win Over Towson

11/22/2024 9:38:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

TOWSON, Md. - No. 2 seed University of Delaware volleyball defeated No. 3 Towson in four sets (12-25, 25-23, 25-23, 29-27) in the semifinals of the CAA Tournament on Friday, Nov. 22 at SECU Arena. The Blue Hens advanced to the CAA Championship Match for the third consecutive season and will look to defend its title against No. 1 Charleston tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. Savannah Seemans recorded her 200th career ace during the match. The win marked Delaware's 11th consecutive victory.

HEN HIGHLIGHTS

Raina Hughes led Delaware's offense with a match-best 15 kills and a .448 hitting percentage. She also had two blocks.
Kirah Johnson tallied 14 kills with a .367 hitting percentage, three blocks, and two aces.
Anna Logan Gillens added 12 kills.
Lily Rogers recorded 40 assists and seven digs.
Seemans had seven kills, one ace, three blocks, and 18 digs.
Asia Murray contributed five kills and two blocks.
Cadence Nguyen recorded 17 digs, five assists, and two aces.
Hannah Wright had an ace and nine digs.
Taylor Holly had eight digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST SET

Towson never trailed in the first set, taking a 5-0 lead immediately and never relinquishing.
Gillens had three kills in the first set.

SET TWO

Delaware responded with a stronger start and led 8-4 early. Aces by Nguyen, Wright, and Seemans and two kills by Hughes helped get the Blue Hens going.
A 4-0 run on kills by Gillens, Hughes, and Whitfield-Moss and a block by Seemans and Whitfield-Moss put Delaware ahead 15-9. Towson tied the score at 19, but a block by Whitfield-Moss and Rogers and a kill by Gillens put UD back ahead by two. With the score knotted at 23, UD scored the final three points of the set, with Johnson and Hughes recording the final two kills.
Hughes had five kills on seven attempts in the second and Rogers had 11 assists.

SET THREE

Towson struck first in the third set by taking a 7-4 lead. UD fought back to tie the score at 8-8, 9-9, and 10-10, but a 4-0 Towson run gave them a 15-11 lead that eventually stretched to 21-16.
Murray and Hughes both had kills and an ace by Nguyen cut the deficit to two and another 3-0 spurt on a kill from Hughes and Seemans and a block by Johnson tied the set at 22. Delaware scored the next point to retake the lead, but UD again scored the final three points to win 25-23 and go up 2-1.
Delaware hit a blistering .371 in the third set. Johnson and Murray each had five kills and Rogers had 12 assists.

SET FOUR

The final set of the match was the closet with 13 ties and four lead changes. Delaware built a 14-11 lead after a kill from Rogers, but Towson evened eventually evened the score at 17 before the Blue Hens went back up 21-19.
Towson went on to take a 23-22 lead, and had set point on three separate occasions before UD went up 27-26 on kills by Seemans and Johnson. Johnson gave Delaware a 28-27 lead to set up match point, and a Towson error clinched the win for Delaware.
Hughes and Gillens had five kills in the set and Rogers had 12 assists.

MATCH NOTES

Delaware is in the CAA Championship Match for the third season in a row. UD are the ninth team in CAA history to go to at least three consecutive CAA Championship Matches, joining Towson (2019-2023), James Madison (2016-2019, 1985-1987), Charleston (2013-2015), Delaware (2010-2012), George Mason (2000-2003, 1992-1997), and William & Mary (1984-1991).
Kimberly Lambert has guided Delaware to the CAA Championship Match in each of her first three seasons as head coach.
Delaware improved to 20-11 overall in the CAA Tournament and 10-5 in semifinal matches. UD is 5-4 in CAA Championship matches.
Delaware has matched up with Towson in the CAA Tournament four-seasons in a row. The Blue Hens have won the last two matches against them in four sets, including last season's CAA Championship Match.
The Blue Hens have won at least 20 games in a season for the second-straight year. It's the first time Delaware has won at least 20 matches in two-straight years since doing so in three straight seasons from 2009-2011.
Delaware has won 21 of its last 22 sets.
Delaware is one of 14 teams in the country with at least an 11-match win streak.
Seemans became the fourth player in program history to record 200 career aces, joining Pam Chorley, Lori Gabbert, and Julie Earhart. She is the seventh active NCAA Division I player to reach this milestone.
Hughes tied a season-high with 15 kills, last done on Oct. 13 against William & Mary.
Johnson had her 11th straight match with at least three total blocks. She now has 427 for her career, fourth most in program history.
Rogers recorded her 1,000th assist of the season during the fourth set.
Murray also tied her season-best in kills with five, also done against Kent State on August 31 and Oct. 13 against William & Mary.
Holly's eight digs were the most by a Delaware freshman in the CAA Tournament since Lani Mason also had eight in the 2019 quarterfinals against Hofstra.

UP NEXT
Delaware will face No. 1 seed Charleston tomorrow in the CAA Championship Match tomorrow at 4:00 p.m.

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