TOWSON, Md. – In a back and forth battle that featured 46 ties and 16 lead changes, William & Mary claimed a 3-1  victory over the Towson University volleyball team in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play Friday night. Three Tigers recorded double digit kills in the match led by junior Saitaua Iosia's 17 kills.

The first set featured six ties and one lead change. William & Mary led 13-8 on a service error by the Tigers and increased its advantage to 17-12 on a kill from Liz Brown. Trailing 21-16 in the set, the Tigers used a 6-1 run to tie the action at 22-22. Sophomore Haley Pa'akaula had three kills during that stretch for Towson. William & Mary responded by scoring three of the next four points to claim the 25-23 set victory. Pa'akaula had six first set kills for the Tigers.

The two teams continued to battle in the second set and fought through five ties and three lead changes. The Tribe (8-17, 3-5 CAA) opened up a 15-12 advantage on a kill from Dessi Koleva. Towson responded with a 5-2 run to tie the set at 17-17. Pa'akaula had a pair of kills during that spurt. Back-to-back kills from freshman Lindsay Flaherty helped the Tigers take a 22-18 lead in the set. A kill from junior Paige Sekerak pushed the advantage to 24-20. The Tribe scored a pair of points before a kill from senior Dayane Van Ass closed out a 25-22 set win for the Tigers. Towson's set victory tied the match at 1-1.

Both teams struggled hitting the ball in the third set. William & Mary hit just .152 while the Tigers hit .086 which contributed to 13 ties and three lead changes. A kill from Iosia allowed the Tigers to take a 15-11 advantage in the set. The Tribe scored five of the next seven points to tie the set at 17-17. A kill from Pa'akaula tied the set at 20-20. An attack error by the Tigers (7-20, 0-8 CAA) on the next play started a 5-2 run which gave the Tribe a 25-22 set win and a 2-1 lead in the match.

The fourth set ended up being the most tightly contested of the match and featured 22 ties and nine lead changes. A 14-9 lead for the Tribe after a kill from Koleva proved to be the largest of the set for either team. Towson scored five unanswered points, including a service ace from sophomore Kyana Miller to tie the set at 14-14. From that point forward, neither team would hold a lead of more than a point in the set. Towson held a 25-24 lead on a kill from Iosia only to see the Tribe battle right back. Iosia's kill gave Towson a 31-30 advantage, however that was the last lead for the Tigers. William & Mary scored four of the final points for a 34-32 set victory and the match win.

Iosia added nine digs in addition to her team-high in kills. Pa'akaula contributed a career-high 16 kills while Van Ass was the third Tiger in double figures with 13 kills. Junior Aimee Schubert matched her season-high with 27 assists while Miller finished with 26 assists. Sekerak contributed a match-high 27 digs for the Tigers.

Koleva led William & Mary with 17 kills and eight digs while Gabrielle Pe finished with 22 assists and 10 digs.

Towson wraps up the weekend action when it hosts James Madison on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m.