ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Towson University volleyball team won the first set but Abilene Christian battled back to claim the next three and earned the 3-1 victory in the final match of the Lobo Invitational for both squads.

The Tigers finished second in the tournament despite the loss. Sophomore Haley Pa'akaula and junior Saitaua Iosia were named to the all-tournament team.

The two teams battled through seven ties early in the first set and found themselves knotted at 12-12. A kill from freshman Lindsay Flaherty jump started a 6-0 run by the Tigers and allowed them to take an 18-12 lead. Towson extended its advantage to 21-15 on a kill from senior Dayane Van Ass. The two squads traded points before a kill from junior Victoria Williams closed out a 25-22 first set win for the Tigers.

In the second set, Abilene Christian (4-4) took advantage of a Tiger error to open up a 14-8 lead. The Wildcats extended their lead over the Tigers (4-8) to 20-13 on a kill from Lexi Mercier. A kill from Neely Borger gave Abilene Christian a 25-22 set victory and tied the match at 1-1.

The third set was a tightly contested one as the two squads battled through 16 ties and six lead changes. Abilene Christian eventually used back-to-back kills from Jennifer Loerch to claim the 30-28 set win and took a 2-1 lead in the match.

The Tigers got off to a strong start in the fourth set and opened up a 14-9 lead on a kill from Williams. The Tigers extended their advantage to 19-14 on a kill from Flaherty. Abilene Christian used a 7-2 run to tie the set at 21-21. Towson went back on top 22-21 following a Wildcat error. However, Abilene Christian scored five of the final seven points in the set to earn a 26-24 victory and win the match.

Iosia and sophomore Kyana Miller posted “double-double” performances to lead the Tigers' efforts. Iosia's “double-double” was her second of the day and fourth of the season. She finished with 10 kills and 11 digs while Miller had 27 assists and 10 digs for her first “double-double” of the year. Williams had 13 kills while Pa'akaula finished with 11 kills. Junior Paige Sekerak recorded a season-high 25 digs.

Loerch led Abilene Christian with 15 kills and 13 digs while Sarah Siemens finished with 46 assists and 11 digs.

Towson returns to action on Tuesday, Sept. 17 when the Tigers travel to Delaware State for a 6 p.m. match.