TOWSON, Md. --The Stony Brook volleyball team had their historic 2023 campaign come to a close this evening after falling to the Towson Tigers 3-0 (19-25, 13-25, 22-25) in the CAA Semifinals on Friday at TU Arena.
Ava Jackson finished with 10 kills on the day to lead the Seawolves' attack. Defensively, Stony Brook got 13 digs from Julia Patsos and eight from Leoni Kunz.
In the third set, Kunz notched her 1,000th career kill. She is 101 kills away from passing Melissa Rigo for 10th all-time in program history.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 | The Seawolves fell behind early, losing the first set 25-19. After falling behind 6-1 in the set, Stony Brook stormed on an 8-3 run to tie the match at 9-9 following the ace by Lauren Schmitz. The teams would go continue to back and forth by tying the match at 13-13 after a kill by Kali Moore. Later in the set, Jackson would cut the Seawolves' deficit to 18-17, but the Tigers then won seven of the last nine points to secure the opening frame victory.
SET 2 | Stony Brook then lost set two 25-13 to fall behind in the match 2-0. Following a kill by Moore at 4-4, Towson went on a 6-1 run to take the 10-5 lead. However, Stony Brook fought back to cut the lead to 13-11 after the kill by Henry. But, the Tigers took control and used a late push to take advantage of the set and ultimately the victory.
SET 3 | Similarly to the second set, the teams went back-and-forth early on with Abby Campbell tying the match at 4-4. But, the Tigers would go on another run to take the 9-6 lead. Stony Brook did not go away without a fight, as the squad battled to get the deficit within one at 19-18 following Henry's fourth ace of the match. However, the Tigers held on, securing the 25-22 victory in the third and final set.
STATS AND NOTES
- Henry had a match-high four aces in the contest.
- Stony Brook attackers were helped by a team-high 27 assists from Henry.
- The Seawolves finished with eight aces compared to one from Towson.
- Stony Brook finished the season with 17 wins, their most since 2018 when they finished with 21.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
"This team's growth from the beginning of the year to now has been fun to be part of. Each person got outside their comfort zone to come together and push for results down the stretch and I'm so proud of them. This is definitely not the way we wanted it to end but I'm thankful for the fight from this group all year, and know they have set a standard for this program moving forward," said head coach Kristin Belzung.
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