Box Score

BOSTON - In a battle between two conference rivals, the Northeastern women's volleyball team was defeated by the Towson Tigers, 3-1 (25-20, 19-25, 25-18, 25-18), on Sunday afternoon. 

Towson became just the third team this season to hit for .300 or more against the Huskies (.306), also outblocking Northeastern 12.0-9.0.
 
Sophomore hitter Jamie Bredahl led the Huskies with her 10th double-double of the season, recording 11 kills, 11 digs, and an ace on the afternoon. Natalia Skiba shared the back row with Bredahl, adding 12 more digs to her all-time career dig record at Northeastern. 
 
Alexa Armstrong hit for .462 with six kills and no errors on 13 attacks, while Brigitte Burcescu sent home nine kills, bringing her first-year season total to 234 kills at 3.44 per set.
 
Sophomore middle hitter Caterina Rosander posted eight kills and five blocks on the afternoon, and teammate Ava Cramp netted five kills to go along with five blocks as well.
 
Saitaua Iosia dropped 20 kills for Towson (15-3, 2-2 CAA), while Aimee Schubert earned a double-double with 26 assists and 10 digs. Victoria Williams picked up 14 kills for the Tigers, and Paige Sekerak collected 16 digs.
 
Despite opening the first set on a 3-0 run, Northeastern (8-9, 1-3 CAA) was quick to surrender two kills to Barbara Lopez and Iosia, and a streak of three more kills gave the Tigers a 6-4 lead early in the first. After Bredahl sent home a kill from Walding to bring the Huskies within two at 11-9, Towson rattled off four straight points to jump out ahead, 15-9.
 
Rosander paired up with Cramp and Burcescu for two consecutive blocks to keep Northeastern in the set at 15-12, but the Tigers maintained leads at 18-13, and 19-15. Ashlee Asada came up big for the Huskies with back-to-back aces and NU would soon tie the set at 19-19, but Towson would score four in a row en route to a 25-20 first set win.
 
After Towson had hit .406 in the first set, Northeastern responded by hitting .314 in the second set. Skiba found Walding to put the Huskies up 6-3, and a kill by Burcescu forced Tigers head coach Don Metil to call timeout, down 7-3. Northeastern strung four straight points together to lead 12-6, and two straight miscues by Towson gave the Huskies a seven point advantage, 16-9.
 
The Tigers would come as close as four down the stretch in the second set, and the Huskies leveled the match with a 25-19 victory.
 
Up 7-6 in the third set, Towson widened its lead on Northeastern to 10-6, thanks to kills by Haley Pa'akaula and Iosia. A kill by Bredahl brought the Huskies to within three, down 11-8, but the Tigers scored six unanswered to take a 17-8 edge on Northeastern. NU would chip away at the lead and force a Towson timeout, trailing 23-18, but a block by Iosia and Lindsay Flaherty two points later gave the Tigers a 25-18 third set win.
 
Towson started the fourth set on a 6-2 scoring run, but the Huskies pulled back to within one at 7-6. A kill by Pa'akaula sparked a three-point run for the Tigers, who five points later had built a 13-8 lead. The Huskies' offense threw everything they had at the Towson front row, and back-to-back kills by Burcescu and Bredahl soon cut the gap to 17-15.
 
However, the Tigers would score five of the next six points to lead 22-16, and landed two straight kills to win the fourth set 25-18, and the match 3-1.
 
Northeastern begins a five-match road trip on Wednseday, Oct. 8 at Hofstra at 7 p.m. The Huskies will then travel back to the Carolinas to take on defending CAA champion College of Charleston (Saturday, Oct. 11, 7 p.m.) and Big South conference member Campbell (Sunday, Oct. 12, 2 p.m.).