Fourth-seeded Hofstra Upsets Top-Seeded Towson in CAA Semifinals
TOWSON,
Md. (November 17, 2012) - Fourth-seeded Hofstra rallied from a 2-1 deficit to
upset top-seeded Towson 3-2 in the second CAA Volleyball Championship semifinal
match Friday night. The Pride will face second-seeded Delaware in tomorrow's
CAA Championship match at 5:00 p.m.
Hofstra
(20-13, 6-6 CAA) was led by sophomore outside hitter Kelsie Wills who tallied
20 kills and six digs, while senior setter Catalina Charry added 25 assists.
Towson (25-4, 12-0 CAA) junior outside hitter Katy Buck recorded a
double-double with 13 kills and 13 digs, while senior setter Aubrey Kirven had
a match-high 39 assists.
The first set
featured four ties and two lead changes as both teams battled early to gain the
early upper hand in the match. After building an 18-14 lead, Towson finished the
set on a 7-0 run to pick up a 25-18 set victory, and take a 1-0 lead in the
match. Kirven finished with ten assists in the opening frame.
Hofstra
bounced back from its first set loss and took complete control of the second
set. After falling behind 2-0, the Pride went on an 8-2 run to force a Towson
timeout with the score at 10-2. The Pride didn't let up the offensive intensity,
and went on a 5-0 run, and after a quick Towson point, went on a 10-0 run to
take a 24-5 lead late in the set. Following two Tiger points, the Pride closed
out the set and sealed its 25-7 victory and tied the match at 1-1 heading into
the break. Wills had seven kills in the second frame while senior libero Kylee
Maneja added seven digs.
Towson would
use the third set to counter with an offensive display of its own by
accumulating an attack clip of .474 in the set, and holding a 10-5 advantage in
kills. The Tigers went on two 9-0 runs during the set, and cruised to a 25-6
victory, while taking a 2-1 lead in the match. Senior opposite Marta Machos led
the Tigers with five kills in the frame.
The fourth set
was the closest of all the sets, featuring five ties and three lead changes.
With the score at 11-10 in favor of Towson, Hofstra would counter with a 6-0
run to build up a 16-11 lead. Hofstra would hold the lead for the rest of the
set, and after fighting off a late Towson rally, tied the match at 2-2 with a
25-20 set win and force the decisive fifth-frame. Wills finished with six kills
in the fourth frame while the pride hit .343, their best hitting percentage of
the set.
Hofstra would
use the momentum from the fourth set victory to jump out to a 7-4 advantage in the
middle of the final frame. Towson would fight back with a 3-0 run and make the
score 10-9 in favor of the Pride. However, that's as close as the Tigers would
come, as Hofstra would end the game on a 5-2 run and win the final set 15-10,
and the match 3-2.
The
Pride snapped an 18-match winning streak for Towson, and increased their own winning
streak to six matches dating back to the regular season. Hofstra will be
appearing in its fourth CAA Championship game and will be looking to win its
first CAA title since 2006.