Wilmington, NC – Hofstra's CAA Rookie of the Year Laura Masciullo recorded a match-high 15 kills and senior Hannah Klemm added 26 assists to lead the Pride but Tiger senior Jessica Lewis tallied 13 kills and freshman Marissa Wonders posted 24 assists and 14 digs to lead Towson to a three-set victory over Hofstra in the Colonial Athletic Association Championship quarterfinals at Hanover Hall on the campus of UNCW Friday evening.

Towson, the number five seed in the Championship, posted set wins by the scores of 25-19, 26-24 and 25-23 to improve to 24-8 and advance to Saturday's semifinals against top-seed James Madison. Hofstra, the number four seed, ends its season with a final slate of 20-10.

In the first set, the Tigers jumped on the Pride early, scoring five of the first six points. But Hofstra responded by tallying five of the next nine points to close to within three on sophomore Michela Rucli's kill that brought the score to 9-6. But the Tigers, who had 16 kills and a .387 attack percentage in the first set, scored nine of the next 11 points to open up an 18-8 lead after a kill by senior Lindsay Flaherty. The Pride would battle back to within five at 24-19 after three consecutive points. But sophomore Jocelyn Kuilan ended the set for the Tigers with her fourth kill of the period to take set one, 25-19.

The second set was much closer with five tied scores but only two lead changes as Hofstra grabbed the early lead. But the Tigers battled back from an early four-point deficit at 11-7 and went on 9-3 run to open up a 16-14 advantage after a kill by Wonders. The Tigers would build two four point leads, the latest at 22-18 only to see the Pride rally to tie the set at 24-24. But Towson would close out the set with a kill by senior Candace Steadman and a service ace by Kuilan for the 26-24 win.

Masciullo posted six kills, Rucli added five kills and a .833 attack percentage and senior Veronika Kostova added four kills in the second set for the Pride but freshman Annie Ertz had five kills and senior Jessica Lewis posted four more to lead the Tigers in set two.

Set three would feature six tied scores and five lead changes as both teams built early three point leads. After Hofstra battled back from a 7-4 deficit to take an 11-8, Towson went on a 13-4 run to build their biggest lead of the set at 21-15 after a Steadman kill. But the Pride, once again, battled back to close within one on three occasions, the latest at 24-23 after a kill by Masciullo. But the Tigers closed on the set and the match with one of junior Payton Windell's five kills in the set for the 25-23 victory. Masciullo had five kills in the set but it wasn't enough for the Pride.

Senior Hannah Klemm, one of four seniors that the Pride are saying farewell to, finished her career with 4,342 assists which rank her third on Hofstra's career chart. She also ranks seventh on the CAA career assists chart. Graduate-student Semen Sen and seniors Sophia Black and Veronika Kostova also played in their last match for the Pride.