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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
Stephanie Neast
3
Winner Radford RAD 1-0
2
Towson TOWSON 0-1
Winner
Radford RAD
1-0
3
Final
2
Towson TOWSON
0-1
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Radford RAD 19 25 25 23 15 (3)
Towson TOWSON 25 20 18 25 8 (2)

Game Recap: Volleyball |

RADFORD OUTLASTS TOWSON IN FIVE SET THRILLER


 
BALTIMORE, Md. – The Radford volleyball team outlasted Towson in a five set, season-opening thriller to earn a 3-2 (19-25, 25-20, 25-18, 23-25, 15-8) victory in Reitz Arena on Friday afternoon.
 
After a slow start in the first set put the Highlanders (1-0) behind early, the team found its footing and stormed back to take a 2-1 lead. An extremely close fourth set gave the Tigers (0-1) new life, but Radford secured the win with a commanding performance in the final set.
 
Junior Stephanie Neast and freshman Taylor O'Neal led the way with 12 kills apiece while senior Valerie Gonzalez made a charge late to contribute 10 kills of her own. Fellow senior Haley Kleespies found her teammates for 29 assists and recorded a game-high four aces.
 
Radford enjoyed a 10-4 advantage in service aces overall. Both teams showed signs of some rust as hitting percentages finished .179 to .167 in favor of the Highlanders.
 
SET 1: The Tigers and Highlanders looked very evenly matched to start, trading points back-and-forth until the score stood 7-7. From there though, Towson took control. A 14-5 run pushed Towson's lead to a set-high nine points, making it tough for Radford to fight its way back. A .457 hit percentage with 18 kills on 16 assists helped give Towson a 25-19 victory in the set and a 1-0 lead on the day.
 
SET 2: Radford looked much more like its old self in the second set, coming away with a 25-20 win. The Highlanders were paced by Stephanie Neast and Samantha Reitz who combined for seven kills. Radford held the Tigers to a .132 hitting percentage thanks in part to three blocks. Towson also hurt themselves with seven errors in the period, up from just two in the first set.
 
SET 3: Neast picked up where she left off before the break, earning a kill off an assist from Haley Kleespies. That momentum continued as the Highlanders built their lead to 10-4, but Towson answered with a 7-0 run that put them back in front, 11-10. Radford showed just how mentally tough they are however, weathering the storm and bouncing back with a 6-0 run of their own to make it 16-11. From there it was all Highlanders as they closed out the set with a 25-18 win. Once again the Tigers' hitting percentage dropped, this time all the way down to -.069, in the set. Kleespies recorded two service aces and Alyssa Carruth added one of her own.
 
SET 4: Looking to avoid a loss in their season opener, the Tigers came out firing. Several Radford errors allowed Towson to jump out to a 12-6 lead in the set, but the Highlanders yet again fought their way back. A 6-0 burst that featured two kills by Neast and yet another ace from Carruth knotted things up at 13-13. Towson took its turn to go on a run, building its lead to 21-16, but Radford got back in it at 24-23. Olivia Finckel hit her 10th kill to record point 25 and force a fifth and final set.
 
SET 5: With the final set tied at 4, the Highlanders dug deep and took complete control of the game. Kills from Neast and O'Neal, along with back-to-back aces from Grace Green, doubled up the score to 8-4 as the teams switched sides of the court. The lead grew to as much as seven (11-4) and Radford refused to let Towson back in it, clinching the season-opening victory with a 15-8 win. Radford earned a .409 hitting percentage in the set, by far its best of the day.
 
MOMENT OF THE MATCH
The moment of the match came in the third set when the Tigers mounted a 7-0 run to erase a huge lead for Radford. Proving to be a turning point in the match, the Highlanders kept their cool in the face of adversity and posted a 6-0 run of their own before winning the set and going up 2-1 in the match.

TWEET OF THE MATCH  
NOTABLE STATS
Blocks played a huge role in the outcome of this game. Towson was strong at the net for the vast majority of the match, posting multiple blocks in each of the first four sets, but they failed to record even one in the final set. Meanwhile, Radford went without a block in the first set before finishing with 10 total.

QUOTABLE
"I thought we started off not believing we could compete and then slowly got confidence towards the end of set 1. I'm proud of the fight our team showed as Towson is a very solid team. We will continue to try and get better tomorrow!" - Head Coach Marci Byers
 
UP NEXT
The Highlanders will turn their attention to the hosts of the Baltimore Bash – Loyola (Md.) – as well as Siena on Saturday. Radford takes on the Greyhounds at 10:30 a.m. before going up against the Saints at 5 p.m.
 
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For more information on the Radford volleyball team visit RadfordAthletics.com, follow @RadfordVB on Twitter and Instagram or Radford Volleyball on Facebook.
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