Box Score

TOWSON, Md. - The Northeastern volleyball team (17-5, 6-2 CAA) could not stop a red-hot Tigers' club in Towson, Md., as the Huskies fell to Towson in straight sets, 3-0 (22-25, 21-25, 22-25) on Sunday afternoon at Tiger Arena.

Towson won its 14th-straight match and controls its own destiny with a two-game advantage over both Northeastern and Delaware in the Colonial Athletic Association standings.

Junior Kelly Bacon led Northeastern offensively once again with a 13-kill effort on Sunday. The Temecula, Calif., native also chimed in with five digs and a block. Junior captain Janelle Tucker totaled six kills and as many digs with two blocks in the setback. Senior captain Nicole Bishop had a strong day at the front of the net with six blocks and hit for .214 with five kills on 14 swings. Junior hitter Nichole Kurz logged five kills on 13 attempts (.308) with five blocks while sophomore Ava Cramo turned in three kills and four blocks on the day.

Sophomore libero Natalia Skiba anchored the Huskies' defense with 15 digs and registered her first kill of the season.

Bacon landed the first kill of the match followed by a Marta Machos error to put Northeastern ahead right out of the chute, 2-0. Towson quickly tied it, but another Tigers' error and a Kurz kill regained the Huskies' two-point edge, 4-2.

Momentum the shifted to the home team after Towson tied the first set up with a block, 4-4. The Tigers then claimed five of the next six volleys and capitalized off a pair of Bacon attacking errors to rush ahead, 9-5.

Towson pushed forward and forced the Huskies into a timeout trailing six, 15-9. Out of the break, a sophomore Jillian Briner attacking error coupled with an I'ishah Keliikoa and Katy Buck kill gave the Tigers their largest lead of the set, 18-9.

Northeastern dug deep and clawed back to make it a one-point game late, 23-22, thanks to some sturdy play by Cramp. Cramp slammed down a kill and stuffed a pair of Towson attempts during the 13-5 run, but the Huskies were plagued with a couple errors late and Machos sealed the deal with a kill for the first set victory, 25-22.

The Huskies competed head-to-head with Towson in the early goings and had an early 5-4 lead after a Buck attacking error to start the second frame. Bacon returned the favor by going into the net, triggering a six-point Towson rally as the Tigers claimed a 10-5 lead.

Junior setter Ina Kamenova forced a Tiger error, but Towson took over the middle portion of the second set and won seven of the next 10 points to take a commanding eight-point lead, 17-9.

Northeastern called a timeout and the Huskies rallied back to make it a two-point set once again.

Tucker slammed the cross-court kill after the break, leading into another Cramp-Bishop block to cut Towson's lead to five, 17-12. Towson won the next three points through a pair of Huskies' attacking errors to go back up eight, 20-12, but a Bacon kill and Bishop block kept NU alive, 20-14.

Tucker and Cramp scored with a pair of kills each and after a Dayane Van Ass kill. Briner's successful swing followed by a block with Kurz made it a two-point affair, 23-21, and forced the Tigers to take a timeout.

After the break, Northeastern was charged with a ball handling error and a long attack by Briner gave Towson the 2-0 lead in the match thanks to a 25-21 second stanza victory.

The third set was a story of runs as the Huskies stormed out to a 5-1 advantage with four kills and a Kurz-Briner block, but Towson turned the tables quickly with a five-point run.

With the Tigers ahead by one, 6-5, the Huskies went on a three-point spurt thanks to a pair of kills by Kurz and Bishop, 8-6. Northeastern stretched out its lead with a Bishop block and Cramp kill to settle on a four-point advantage, 12-8, forcing Towson to call for a timeout.

Out of the huddle, Bishop and Tucker teamed up for a block to take Northeastern largest lead of the match, 13-8, but Buck busted up the Huskies' run with a kill making it 13-9.

Towson committed a ball handling error to put NU back up five, 14-9, but Van Ass and Machos threw down respective kills to swing momentum back to the Tigers' side.

Cramp's kill was negated by a successful I'ishah Keliikoa swing and Towson went on a 4-1 run to tie it up, 16-16, midway through the third set.

Alysha McCreary's attacking error looked to be the end for the Tigers as the Huskies were ahead, 21-18, but the home team went on a four-point run to capture its first lead of the third frame, 22-21. Northeastern took a timeout, but Towson come out and blocked the Huskies' next attack. On the next play, Bishop tried to keep the ball in play but just missed it and Towson faced match point, 24-21.

Northeastern called for another timeout and out of the break, Cramp kept NU alive with a kill through the middle. Towson coach Bruce Atkinson called a timeout and Keliikoa finished off the match with a kill to take the third-set victory, 25-22.

The Huskies look to rebound in their final home match of the season. Northeastern will play just one match this week when Georgia State comes to Boston for a 1 p.m. matinee at Solomon Court on Sunday, Oct. 28. Seniors Nicole Bishop and Jasmine Marta will be honored before Sunday's contest.