CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Towson University volleyball team rallied from a 2-0 deficit to force a fifth set but could not come all the way back and dropped a 3-2 decision to James Madison in the first round of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Tournament Friday night. The Tigers finished the season with a record of 27-5.

The No. 3 Tigers opened the first set hot as sophomore Taylor Huewe's kill made it 10-5. A kill from senior Saitaua Iosia extended the Towson lead to 16-8. No. 6 James Madison scored 14 of the next 18 points and took a 22-20. Janey Goodman had three kills for the Dukes while Kristi Richardson had a service ace. The teams traded points as a kill from freshman Barbara Lopez allowed the Tigers to tie the set at 24-24. However a kill from Kelly Maguire and a service ace from Sarah Patterson gave the Dukes a 26-24 set win.

Iosia and Huewe led the Tigers with four first set kills while Goodman led James Madison with five kills.

A kill from Lizzy Briones helped JMU open up an 8-4 advantage in the second set. A service ace from Briones extended the Dukes' lead to 13-6. A kill from Goodman gave James Madison a 17-11 advantage and forced the Tigers to call timeout. Towson responded by scoring five of the next six points to pull to within two, 18-16. Senior Capri Tirrell had a service ace for the Tigers. The two teams went back and forth before a Goodman kill gave the Dukes a 23-19 lead and the Tigers called their second timeout. A pair of kills from senior Victoria Williams pulled the Tigers to within two, 24-22. A kill from Goodman sealed the 25-22 second set win for James Madison and gave the Dukes a 2-0 lead in the match.

Goodman and Briones each had four kills for the Dukes while Briones added four blocks.

The Tigers came out of the break in between the second and third sets firing as a block from Iosia and sophomore Lindsay Flaherty gave Towson a 6-2 lead and forced James Madison to call timeout. The Dukes battled back to tie the third set at 8-8 before five straight points by the Tigers. That scoring run gave Towson a 13-8 lead and was highlighted by a kill and a pair of block assists from redshirt sophomore Candace Steadman. A service ace from senior Paige Sekerak extended the Tiger lead to 18-11. Back-to-back kills from Flaherty gave Towson a 24-14 advantage in the set. Towson claimed a 25-14 set win on an attack error by the Dukes.

Steadman led the Tigers with five kills and two blocks in the set.

A block from Flaherty allowed the Tigers to open up a 7-2 lead in the fourth set. Back-to-back kills from Huewe gave Towson an 11-6 advantage. Huewe's fourth kill of the set pushed the Tiger lead to 14-9. A kill from Flaherty gave Towson an 18-15 lead. Steadman had a kill which gave the Tigers a 22-17 advantage and forced JMU to call timeout. Three kills from Goodman pulled the Dukes to within two, 24-22. However a kill from Iosia gave Towson a 25-22 set win and tied the match at 2-2.

Iosia had six kills in the set while Huewe contributed five kills.

James Madison opened up a 5-1 lead to start the fifth set. Towson scored six of the next nine points and pulled to within one, 8-7. Iosia and Flaherty each had two kills during that stretch. James Madison used a 5-0 run to take a 13-7 lead. Martha Stewart had three kills for the Dukes. James Madison went on to claim a 15-9 set win and victory in the match on a kill from Meghan Niski.

Stewart led James Madison with four kills in the crucial fifth set.

In her final match as a Tiger, Iosia led the team with 17 kills and seven digs while her fellow senior Williams had 11 kills and four blocks. Flaherty added a career-high 12 kills and tied her career-high with eight blocks. Huewe matched her career mark with 10 kills and four blocks. Lopez had 30 assists while redshirt junior Aimee Schubert posted the double-double with 23 assists and 10 digs. Sekerak had 16 digs while senior Aniris Fernandez matched her season-high with 12 digs.

Goodman led James Madison with 17 kills and nine blocks. Briones added 12 kills and 15 blocks while Patterson had 51 assists and eight digs.

The Tigers, who completed one of the strongest seasons in program history, lose Iosia, Williams, Sekerak, Fernandez, Tirrell and Breana Harris to graduation. They will return third team All-CAA pick Haley Pa'akaula and CAA All-Rookie selection Lopez next year along with several other key contributors.