The William and Mary volleyball team fell in the regular season finale at Towson Saturday night, 3-1.  The Tribe, one of just four teams to win a set off of Towson in the CAA, moves to 13-13 overall and 5-7 in league play, while the Tigers improved to 25-3 and 12-0 in the conference.

Box Score

Leading the way for the Tribe was freshman Dessi Koleva (Torrance, Calif.), who scored 12 kills wiht five digs.  Senior Shaylin O'Connell (Leesburg, Va.) had 10 kills and a pair of blocks, with redshirt-sophomore Paulette Grand Pre (Laguna Beach, Calif.) was close behind with nine kills, six digs, two blocks, and a service ace.  Redshirt-freshman Liz Brown (Ellicott City, Md.) had seven kills and two blocks, and true freshman Carolyn Albright (Raleigh, N.C.) rounded out the scoring notables with a team-high five blocks.

Also of note, senior Molly Krull (Raleigh, N.C.) passed out 33 assists, while also contributing six digs, two kills, one block, and one ace.  Junior Celine Alasomuka (Centreville, Va.) had a team-best 12 digs, and freshman Olivia Jebb (Cornwall, N.Y.) added seven more digs.

After the Tigers took the first set 25-17, each side had moments in the second set where they looked to be solidly in control.  The final such moment for Towson came at 24-21, but the Tribe fended off three set-points and scored five in a row to claim a 26-24 win.  After Towson committed an unforced error to start the run, O'Connell and Grand Pre combined on a block to close within a point.  Towson again shanked the ball to tie the score at 24-24 and took a timeout to try and settle things, but coming back from the pause O'Connell swing through the ball and put W&M on the brink.  The Tigers couldn't handle the pressure, and another attack error closed the stanza.

William and Mary will return to Towson next weekend, for the 2012 CAA Championships.  The Tribe, seeded fifth in the event, will take on No. 4 Hofstra in the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 16.  In the regular season, W&M claimed a 3-2 win at Hofstra.  The winner of that match will advance to face No. 1 Towson in the semifinals, Saturday night at 7 p.m.