TOWSON, Md. – Behind a school record 45 digs from redshirt junior Anna Holehouse, the Towson University volleyball team earned a huge 3-2 win over James Madison University in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) action Monday night.

Holehouse broke Kelli Scott's school record for single-match digs (44 digs against UMBC in 1993) while the Tigers set the school record for digs during the rally-scoring era with 118.

THE BASICS
Towson 3, James Madison 2 (25-23, 25-27, 25-22, 24-26, 15-10)
SECU Arena, Towson, Md.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first set was a back-and-forth battle that featured 16 ties and six lead changes. Neither team took a lead of more than three points during the stanza.
• With the set tied at 21-21, Towson (25-4, 11-4 CAA) took advantage of three straight errors by the Dukes (18-5, 9-5 CAA) to take a 24-21 edge.
• A kill from Kelly Vahos and a service ace from Taylor Gail pulled the Dukes to within one, 24-23.
• An attack error by the Dukes on the next serve gave Towson a 25-23 set win.
• With the second set tied at 12-12, Towson used a 7-2 run to take a 19-14 advantage. Junior Carola Biver had a pair of kills during that stretch while fellow junior Jocelyn Kuilan added a service ace and a block assist.
• A kill from senior Julymar Otero extended the Towson lead to 22-18.
• Towson pushed its advantage to 24-20 on a service error by the Dukes.
• However the visitors responded with a 7-1 run to close out the set and claim a 27-25 victory, which tied the match at 1-1. Briley Brind'Amour had a pair of kills during that stretch.
• The Black and Gold quickly jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the third set as James Madison used an early timeout. Biver had three straight kills for the Tigers during that run.
• Towson pushed its lead to 14-9 on a kill from Kuilan.
• Biver's sixth kill of the set extended the home team's advantage to 19-14.
• A kill from sophomore Silvia Grassini allowed Towson to take a 20-18 lead.
• The two teams continued to battle for each point before a kill from Kuilan secured a 25-22 set win and gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead in the match.
• Towson opened the fourth set by scoring 10 for the first 15 points. Kuilan had a pair of kills and a service ace during that run.
• The Tigers took a 14-8 lead on another kill from Kuilan.
• James Madison used an 8-2 run to tie the set at 16-16. M'Kaela White led the Dukes with three kills during that stretch.
• Towson took a 21-18 lead on a block from Otero and junior Olamide Sonuga.
• James Madison rallied back and took a 23-22 edge on a kill from White.
• The two teams traded points before a pair of attack errors by the Tigers gave James Madison a 26-24 set win and tied the match at 2-2.
• Towson quickly opened up a 5-1 lead in the fifth and deciding set and forced the Dukes to use an early timeout.
• A kill from Sonuga gave the Tigers a 7-2 advantage.
• James Madison scored six of the eight points and pulled to within one, 9-8.
• The two teams traded points before an attack error by the Tigers allowed James Madison to tie the set at 10-10.
• That 10th point was the last one James Madison scored in the match.
• Towson used a 5-0 run to close out a 15-10 set win and claimed victory in the match. Otero had a pair of kills during that stretch.

 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Playing five sets for the second straight match, the Tigers improved to 3-0 on the year when the match goes to five.
• Both teams struggled to hit the ball as Towson posted a .110 hitting percentage in the match while James Madison hit .103 in the contest.
• Towson's 118 digs in the match set the school record for single-match digs during the rally-scoring era. It is also the most digs by a CAA school this season and will rank fourth in the nation by a Division I team this season.
• The Tigers had five players record double-digit digs in the contest and three of those players record 20 or more digs. In addition to Holehouse's school record 45, Biver and sophomore Annie Ertz posted career-highs for digs with 22 and 20, respectively.
• Otero posted her CAA leading sixth triple-double of the season with 15 kills, 27 assists and 14 digs. She ranks second in the nation in that category.
• Biver and sophomore Marrisa Wonders each posted a double-double in the match. Biver finished with a match-high 16 kills and 22 digs while Wonders added 26 assists and 10 digs.
• The Tigers swept the season series from James Madison for the first time since 2014.
• Both teams were strong at the net as the Tigers posted 11 team blocks while James Madison had 14 team blocks. Sonuga led the Towson efforts with seven blocks.
• White led James Madison with 13 kills and 10 blocks.

 
The Tigers wrap up the regular season by hosting Delaware on Sunday, November 12 at 1 p.m. Towson will honor seniors Payton Windell and Otero before the match.