Top-Seeded Towson and Second-Seeded Delaware Advance to CAA Volleyball Title Match for Second Straight Season
Hunter Peters
TOWSON, Md. (Nov. 17, 2023) – Top-seeded Towson and second-seeded Delaware earned semifinal victories on Friday at TU Arena to advance to the CAA Volleyball Championship match for the second consecutive season.
The two hottest teams in the league entering the conference tournament stayed hot, setting up a rematch of the 2022 CAA Title match. The CAA came into the weekend as one of two conferences in the NCAA with multiple teams maintaining double-digit winning streaks, and one of those will have to end tomorrow at 7 p.m.
Towson is 5-1 all-time in the championship final, while Delaware maintains a 4-4 record in the title match. The Tigers and Blue Hens have met twice in the tournament final, with Towson winning both matchups.
No. 1 Towson 3, No. 5 Stony Brook 0 (25-19, 25-13, 25-22) BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY
Top-seeded Towson defeated fifth-seeded Stony Brook in straight sets (25-19, 25-13, 25-22) to advance to its fifth straight CAA Volleyball title match on Friday afternoon at TU Arena on the campus of Towson University.
The Tigers improved to 24-5 this season and extended their winning streak to 11 consecutive matches following the semifinal victory. Stony Brook ends the year 17-13 after posting its first winning season since 2018. Towson faces No. 2 Delaware in the CAA Championship final tomorrow at 7 p.m.
Towson hit .342 as a team, paced by the CAA Player of the Year, Nina Cajic, who proved why she deserved the honor in the CAA Semifinals. Cajic tallied a match-high 18 kills, posting a .359 hitting percentage, while Irbe Lazda added 10 kills without an error, hitting .556.
The defending champs hit the ground running, scoring back-to-back points before opening a 6-1 lead. A kill from Sarah Jordan capped the quick start. Stony Brook settled in, battling back to tie the set at 9-9 after a service ace from Lauren Schmitz. The teams traded blows before three straight points from the Tigers gave Towson a 16-13 advantage. The Tigers maintained the lead for the remainder of the set, pushing its edge back to five at 22-17 after a 4-0 run before winning the opening set 25-19.
It was an 8-0 run, which included four kills from Cajic and two from Ylenia De Mango, making the difference in the second set. Cajic capped the run emphatically to give Towson a 21-11 lead in the frame before four consecutive points from the Tigers gave TU a 25-13 set victory. De Mango and Lazda tallied back-to-back blocks to clinch the set and put Towson on the brink of its fifth straight CAA Title match.
Cajic took over in the third set, recording seven kills and one service ace in the frame. Tied at 4-4, the Tigers scored seven of the next nine points, with Cajic tallying five kills during the run. The spurt put Towson in control for the remainder of the frame. The Seawolves cut the deficit to one three times in the final frame, but Towson answered the call on each occasion, closing the match with a 25-22 set win.
Ava Jackson paced Stony Brook with 10 kills, marking the seventh time she recorded double-digit kills during her freshman campaign.
The Tigers’ defense caused fits for Stony Brook, who hit .320 in the first round but was limited to a .125 attacking percentage in the semifinals. Towson maintained a 7-1 edge in blocks and a 58-44 advantage in digs. In addition, Towson tallied 51 kills to 32 for the Seawolves and maintained a 46-31 advantage in assists.
No. 2 Delaware 3, No. 3 Campbell 1 (25-18, 16-25, 25-22, 25-21) BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY
Four Blue Hens tallied double-digit kills as second-seeded Delaware topped third-seeded Campbell 3-1 (25-18-16-25,25-22, 25-21) Friday evening at TU Arena in the CAA Semifinals, advancing to the conference championship match for the second straight season.
Delaware moved to 23-4 overall this season after winning their 14th consecutive match and will face top-seeded Towson in the CAA Championship final tomorrow at 7 p.m. Campbell finishes its inaugural CAA season with a 17-13 mark.
Lani Mason paced Delaware with 17 kills and added 11 digs for her 14th double-double this season. Madelyn Grunza tallied 13 kills on a .400 hitting percentage, while
Kirah Johnson and
Savannah Seemans contributed 11 kills each.
Ezgi Basaranlar totaled 43 assists facilitating the Blue Hen attack, adding six digs, four kills and two service aces.
Chloe Cook was phenomenal for the second straight match, leading Campbell with a math-high 19 kills on a .341 hitting percentage and nine digs in the effort.
Delaware impressed in the opening set, hitting .310 en route to a 25-18 victory. It was back-to-back runs that broke the frame open for the Blue Hens. Facing a 4-3 deficit, Delaware rallied off four straight points to take the lead. Campbell broke the run with consecutive points before an 8-0 Blue Hens run ensued with Eileen Gex at the service line. Seemans and Johnson recorded two kills during the spurt, which gave Delaware a 15-6 advantage. The Camels climbed within four twice throughout the rest of the frame, but it is as close as they would get.
Campbell came alive in the second set, responding with a .567 hitting percentage to even the match at one set apiece. The Camels opened a 7-1 lead in the frame, with a McKenna Sciacca dump set capping a 5-0 run. Campbell pushed its lead to 13-3 and maintained at least a six-point cushion for the remainder of the set, winning 25-16. Cook racked up six of Campbell’s 18 kills in the frame, and the Camels recorded just one attacking error.
Neither team led by more than four points throughout the third set, but Delaware rallied off the final three to win the frame 25-22. Mason clinched set point with a service ace to cap the 3-0 spurt. Before Delaware the run, Campbell notched four straight points to tie the set at 22-22. The Blue Hens gained their first lead in the frame following a 4-0 spurt while facing a 5-3 deficit. Delaware maintained its edge until three consecutive points from the Camels tied the frame at 15 all, and the teams went back and forth until the late Blue Hen rally.
Delaware’s second 8-0 run in the match helped the Blue Hens win the fourth set 25-21 to clinch the semifinal victory. Trailing by two, Seemans recorded a kill to spark eight consecutive points for Delaware, with Johnson recording for kills during the span to give the Blue Hens a 12-6 advantage. Campbell hung tough, cutting the deficit to one on six occasions, but Delaware rallied off four of the last five points with a 21-20 lead to close it out.
It was an evenly matched contest in the box score. Campbell maintained advantages in kills (64-60), assists (62-56) and digs (71-67) despite the setback. Delaware edged the Camels in hitting percentage (.280-.276), blocks (9-7) and at the service line, recording four service aces to none for CU, while Campbell had seven service errors compared to five for the Blue Hens.
Gwen Wolkow and Melody Paige also reached double figures for the Camels, recording 12 and 10 kills, respectively.
Follow the CAA on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to get up-to-date information and learn more about all CAA member institutions and their teams.