WILMINGTON, N.C. – Double-double performances from Saitaua Iosia and Haley Pa'akaula helped the Towson University volleyball team post a 3-2 win at UNC Wilmington on Saturday night in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play. The Tigers (19-3, 6-2 CAA) ran their win streak to five straight matches with the hard fought victory.

"This was a fun match, exciting until the very last point," said Tiger assistant coach Eric Hammond. "The key was which team was going to earn more points on second and third chances. We had some ups and downs as far as ball control and errors, but the team fought on every points and stayed calm when we needed it most. We distributed the ball well to spread out our offense and picked up our blocking and defensive efforts."

Towson jumped out to an 8-5 lead in the first set on a kill from Iosia. The Tigers pushed their lead to 13-10 as redshirt sophomore Candace Steadman registered a kill. UNCW (15-7, 5-3 CAA) responded with an 11-2 run and took a 21-15 advantage. Nicole Lott had a pair of kills and a block assist during that run. Towson responded with an 8-3 run of its own to pull to within one, 24-23. Iosia had a pair of kills during that stretch. The Seahawks claimed the 25-23 set win and a 1-0 lead in the match on a kill from Meredith Peacock.

The Tigers stepped up in the second set as they hit .538 with 14 kills and no errors on 26 attack attempts. Towson opened up an early 8-4 lead and forced UNCW to call timeout. Senior Victoria Williams had a pair of kills for the Tigers during that run. A kill from Iosia pushed the Tiger advantage to 13-6. Pa'akaula's second service ace of the set gave the visitors an 18-11 advantage. The two teams continued to battle before a bad set by the Seahawks gave Towson a 25-13 set win and tied the match at 1-1.

UNCW opened up a 7-3 lead to start the third set. Towson used a 7-3 run to tie the set at 10-10. Iosia had three kills and a block assist during that stretch. The two teams traded points before a kill from Nicole Lott gave UNCW a 17-15 advantage. The Seahawks pushed their lead to 22-17 on a kill from Kristen Powell. Towson responded and used an 8-1 run to close out the set and claim a 25-23 come from behind win. Sophomore Lindsay Flaherty and Williams each had a pair of kills in that stretch that helped the Tigers take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Towson took a 7-4 lead in the fourth set on a kill from Pa'akaula. A kill from Williams pushed the Tiger advantage to 13-10. UNC Wilmington scored 10 of the next 11 points and took a 20-14 lead in the set. Morgan Kline had a pair of kills for the Seahawks. The two teams continued to battle before a block from Flaherty and Williams pulled Towson to within three, 23-20. A pair of kills from Lott helped the Seahawks claim a 25-21 set win and forced the match to a fifth set.

Three kills from Iosia helped the Tigers take a 3-1 lead in the final set. An attack error by the Tigers allowed UNCW to tie the set at 4-4. Kills from Kline and Powell gave the Seahawks an 8-7 edge and the two teams' switched sides. Three straight points from the Tigers gave the visitors a 10-8 lead and forced a UNCW timeout. Steadman had a kill and a block assist during that stretch. A service ace from senior Paige Sekerak gave Towson a 13-9 advantage. The two teams traded points before a kill from Iosia closed out a 15-12 set win for the Tigers and victory in the match.

Iosia had a big night as she had a season-high 26 kills while hitting .353 in the match. She added 12 digs for the double-double and three blocks. Pa'akaula posted 12 kills and 16 digs for the double-double and also had a match-high four service aces. Williams contributed 14 kills while Flaherty had nine kills and four blocks. Redshirt junior Aimee Schubert dished out 34 assists while Sekerak had 11 digs.

Lott led UNC Wilmington with 21 kills and seven digs while Kline added 13 kills and eight digs.

Towson is back in action on Tuesday, Oct. 21 when it heads to Delaware State for a 6 p.m. match.