TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University volleyball team recorded eight of its 10 team blocks in the final two sets to close out a 3-1 victory over William & Mary on Saturday evening in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). The Tigers (21-4, 8-3 CAA) had six players record at least two blocks in the match. Junior Lindsay Flaherty led the way with five blocks including the 300th of her career.

THE BASICS
Towson 3, William & Mary 1
SECU Arena, Towson, Md.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Back-to-back kills from senior Haley Pa'akaula allowed Towson to open up a 9-5 lead in the first set. William & Mary (8-15, 2-8 CAA) scored four of the next five points to pull to within one, 10-9. Towson responded with a 7-1 run of its own to open up a 17-10 lead. Freshman Jocelyn Kuilan and Flaherty each recorded two kills during the run. A kill from sophomore Julymar Otero extended the Towson advantage to 21-13. The two teams traded points before a kill from Flaherty closed out a 25-18 set win for the home team.
• Towson hit .378 in the first set while William & Mary posted a .225 hitting percentage. Kuilan led the Tigers with seven kills while posting a .750 hitting percentage.
• Back-to-back kills from Mallory Brickerd helped William & Mary open up a 13-4 lead in the second set. A kill from Sydney Biniak extended the Tribe's advantage to 22-9. Towson scored six of the next seven points which made it 23-15. Kuilan and Flaherty each had a kill and a block during that run. The two teams traded points before a kill from Gabrielle Pe gave William & Mary a 25-16 set win and tied the match at 1-1.
• William & Mary hit .312 in the set while holding the Tigers to a .103 clip. Dessi Koleva had three kills and six digs during the set.
• The two teams battled through nine ties and six lead changes in the third set. Towson trailed 19-16 in the set following a kill from Carolyn Albright. A kill from Kuilan on the next play started a 9-3 run by the Tigers that closed out the set and gave the Tigers a 25-22 set win. Pa'akaula had four of the final five kills in the set for the Tigers.
• Pa'akaula had five kills while senior Kyana Miller had seven assists and five digs in the set.
• Towson took a 12-8 lead in the fourth set on a kill from Kuilan. A 4-0 run pushed the Towson advantage to 16-9. Redshirt junior Candace Steadman had a pair of kills during that stretch. A block from Steadman and Pa'akaula extended the Towson lead to 19-11. The two teams traded points down the stretch before a kill from redshirt sophomore Annika Rigterink sealed a 25-15 set win and the Towson victory in the match.
• Towosn hit .378 in the fourth set and held William & Mary to a .128 hitting percentage. Kuilan was a perfect 5-for-5 on attack attempts in the fourth.

QUOTABLE

• "I thought we struggled at times and got off to a slower start but we were able to work through some things and had some nice performances," said Towson head coach Don Metil. "Getting to the 10 block mark was a credit to us being strong at the net."

 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Towson improved to 5-0 this season when the Tigers record 10 or more team blocks in a match.
• Flaherty became the 10^th player in program history to record 300 or more blocks in her career and the first since Susan Gansor in 2011.
• Pa'akaula, Miller and redshirt senior Aimee Schubert all posted double-doubles in the win. Pa'akaula had 14 kills and 12 digs for her fourth straight double-double and 13^th of the season. Miller had 16 assists and 12 digs for her second straight double-double and seventh of the season. Schubert contributed 27 assists and 11 digs for her 11^th double-double of the year.
• Kuilan had a match-high 16 kills while Lewis added 10 kills. Redshirt freshman Anna Holehouse finished with a match-high 24 digs and tied her career-high with eight assists.

The Tigers remain home for a pair of matches next weekend. Towson will host College of Charleston on Friday, Oct. 30 and UNC Wilmington on Sunday, Nov. 1.