TOWSON, Md. – Despite freshman Defne Arliel leading all attackers with 15 kills during Saturday's CAA championship match, the Northeastern volleyball team was unable to outlast Towson for the league trophy as the Huskies finished runner-up to the Tigers in three sets at SECU Arena: 26-24, 25-17, 25-22.
 
Arliel fired seven kills during the back-and-forth opening set that witnessed six tied scores and three lead changes. The rookie outside hitter shared in 2020-21 CAA All-Tournament Team honors with sophomore middle blocker Nailah Jenkins, who landed eight kills on 12 attacks (hit .583) and recorded two blocks during the title round.
 
Erica Staunton charted nine kills, 11 digs and two aces for Northeastern (8-3, CAA North No. 2 seed), which made its first CAA championship match appearance since 2013. Sophomore libero Kayla Martin tracked down 11 digs and passed four assists while freshman Maddie Donaphon came through with 10 digs and two aces for the Huskies.
 
Northeastern matched Towson (6-0, CAA North No. 1 seed) in first set kills, 16-16, as the teams offered each other little separation. Though trailing early, the Huskies earned a booming kill from Arliel to close within 15-12, later catching the Tigers at 22-22 off Donaphon's set-tying ace.

Samantha Shupe (22 assists, seven digs) passed for Arliel on her go-ahead kill that awarded Northeastern set point at 24-23, but Towson managed to earn two late kills from Nina Cajic to steal the opener, 26-24.
 
With help from Staunton's back-to-back aces, the Huskies controlled the early, 4-0 lead during the second set before the Tigers responded immediately with an identical run to level the score. Northeastern endured an 11-point stretch without a winning net point as Towson built the 15-11 lead, extending it to 20-15 before play came to a standstill.

Following the ensuing point, the match was halted by a 15-minute delay as the referees reviewed if a challenge by the Tigers' bench was permissible by rule. The sequence interrupted Northeastern's opportunity to spur a comeback as Towson rode its successful challenge to two more points and the ultimate 25-17 victory.
 
Trailing two sets to none, the Huskies burst out to a five-point lead during the third set as Jenkins and Gabrielle Tschannen united on the block that shot NU in front, 11-6. However, the Tigers rallied for six unanswered points as part of their 14-3 scoring run that put the championship out of reach.
 
Towson's Lydia Wiers connected on 13 kills against no attack errors to hit .619 during the match. Emily Jarome added 11 kills, two blocks and nine digs for the Tigers while Cajic posted nine kills, 11 digs and three blocks en route to being named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
 
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