On set point, a Towson service error tied things up at 24. A forced attack error into a beautiful pass play and kill from Pia Timmer decided the first set and gave the win to WSU volleyball, getting them not only a set but also momentum going into the rest of the match.
Momentum for the Cougs is hard to stop, and Towson did not have that in them. WSU volleyball (7-1, 0-0 Pac-12) took down Towson (6-3) in a sweep 3-0 (26-24, 25-20, 25-21). Giving them their third loss of the season, WSU forced Towson into more losses already than they had in all of 2022.
With big plays throughout the match, Bohler Gym became electric, with those in attendance cheering every lead change in favor of the Cougs and every point-saving dig and block. Even a WSU cheerleader began doing the worm as WSU neared ever closer to victory in the final set.
“[Bohler’s] a really nice atmosphere and I’m looking forward to play more here,” Iman Isanovic said. “It’s definitely better than playing from the other side.”
Isanovic finished the match with the team lead in kills yet again, this time finished with 11 kills while hitting .391. Overall, the Cougs hit .333, even having one less total kill than Towson in the match. The downfall for the Tigers was their errors.
“The team has been playing so good since the start of the summer, it feels like I’ve been here for more than one semester. It’s been really nice,” Isanovic said.
Towson committed 13 service errors while only racking up three aces to the Cougs seven. Like in the first set, the errors came at bad times and kept the Cougs’ momentum up throughout the match, never stalling out the rest of the way.
“Credit to [Towson] for coming out and doing some good things offensively,” head coach Jen Greeny said. “I think we settled into what we were trying to do defensively and went from there.”
Pia Timmer nearly finished with a double-double; she had 11 digs but only eight kills on the night. She hit just .208 but picked up the slack with two assists and two service aces for her troubles.
Karly Basham became the only other server for WSU to tally multiple aces, with Isanovic, Magda Jehlárová and Lana Radakovic also picking up an ace a piece in the win. Relatively not the most dominating win, the Towson team kept close but did not have what it takes to beat a top-15 team in the nation.
Iman Isanovic jumps for a serve as her teammates look on, Sept. 7.
WSU has its biggest test of the Cougar Challenge next, as at 7 p.m. Friday, they take on No. 8 BYU in Bohler Gym, an undefeated team that beat them in 2022.
