TOWSON, Md. – In a battle of two of the top teams in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), the Towson University volleyball team earned a 3-1 win over first place Hofstra University Friday night in SECU Arena. The Tigers (23-3, 9-2 CAA) won their ninth straight match and avenged one of their two CAA losses from earlier this season.

"We went back after the third set and said we needed to get the match-ups we had in sets one and two," said Tiger Head Coach Don Metil. "We said to the team this is the rotation we started in, let's get the matchups we need and win.

"We watched the JMU/Hofstra match (Hofstra's only other CAA loss) and in that JMU had a good middle, good outside and a good right side and we accomplished that tonight," added Metil. "It was a good win, Candace Steadman performed really well and so did Lindsay Flaherty. Lindsay was really clean without too many hitting errors tonight."

A block from freshman Barbara Lopez and Steadman helped Towson open up an 8-3 lead in the first set. A kill from senior Victoria Williams extended the Tiger advantage to 15-9. A kill from Steadman put the Tigers ahead 18-11. Hofstra (22-4, 10-2 CAA) used a 4-0 run to pull to within three, 18-15. A kill from senior Saitaua Iosia gave Towson a 23-18 lead. Towson closed out a 25-18 set win on a block from Williams and Steadman.

Williams and Iosia each had five kills in the first set while Steadman contributed three kills and three blocks.

The two teams went back and forth in the second set as there were 11 ties and seven lead changes. Trailing 21-20 in the set, the Tigers scored four straight points and took a 24-21 lead. That run was highlighted by a pair of kills and a block assist from Flaherty. A kill from Veronika Kostova briefly halted the Tiger run and pulled Hofstra to within two, 24-22. Towson got a kill from Iosia on the next play and secured the 25-22 win.

Iosia had seven kills and hit .875 in the set which helped the Tigers take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Hofstra rebounded in a big way in the third set. The Pride hit .385 to Towson's .000 and claimed a 25-12 victory. Kelsie Wills had five kills while Hannah Klemm recorded 10 assists as Hofstra forced the match to a fourth set.

The Tigers and Pride battled point-for-point in the fourth set. The two sides fought through 14 ties and five lead changes. Hofstra led 21-20 in the set on a kill from Wills. However a service error by the Pride on the next play jump started a 5-0 by the Tigers to close out the set. Flaherty had a kill and a pair of block assists in the run that closed out the 25-21 set win for the home team.

Iosia had six kills while Williams and Steadman each added four kills in the final set.

Iosia led the Tigers with 18 kills and four digs while Williams added 14 kills and five blocks. Steadman contributed nine kills and seven blocks. Lopez dished out 21 assists with five blocks while redshirt junior Aimee Schubert had 28 assists and seven digs. Flaherty finished with seven kils and five digs. Senior Paige Sekerak had 17 digs for Towson.

Wills tied Iosia for match-high honors in kills as she finished with 18 kills and four digs. Nuria Lopes da Silva added 12 kills and five blocks.

Towson puts its win streak on the line on Sunday, Nov. 2 when it hosts College of Charleston in SECU Arena at 1 p.m. The Tigers will be looking to avenge a 3-2 loss to the Cougars when the two squads met in September. College of Charleston earned a 3-2 win at Delaware on Friday night.