And So It Begins: The Towson University volleyball team begins Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play this weekend with a pair of road matches. The Tigers travel to Elon on Friday, Sept. 22 before heading to William & Mary on Sunday, Sept. 24. Links to live stats and the video feed for this weekend's match can be found on the schedule page of TowsonTigers.com. Fans can also follow the Tigers on Twitter (@Towson_VB) for updates on the action.

Looking at the Tigers: The Tigers captured their fourth straight tournament title after going 3-0 last week at the Golden Grizzlies Invitational hosted by Oakland. Junior Jocelyn Kuilan was named the tournament MVP after posting 41 kills (3.42 per set) and added 14 digs, five blocks, three service aces and an assist while hitting .309. Kuilan paces the Tigers on the season as she has contributed 162 kills, 67 digs and 16 service aces. Fellow junior Carola Biver has posted 136 kills and 120 digs. Sophomore Marrisa Wonders has dished out a team-best 367 assists while redshirt junior Anna Holehouse leads the defensive efforts with 276 digs. Junior Olamide Sonuga has stuffed 47 balls at the net.

Scouting the Opponents: Elon went 2-1 last weekend at the Tussle in the Triad and now sits at 10-4 on the year. The Phoenix are led by Sydney Busa who is contributing 216 kills and 184 digs while Kodi Garcia has 534 assists. Maddie Jaudon has a team-high 231 digs.

It's a busy weekend for William & Mary. The Tribe host Delaware on Thursday night and James Madison on Saturday before welcoming the Tigers to town on Sunday. Entering the weekend Sydney Biniak has a team-best 190 kills and 19 blocks for the Tribe while Autumn Brenner has handed out 296 assists. Defensively, Katie Turner has a team-high 150 digs.  

Series History: Friday's contest will be the ninth all-time between the Tigers and Elon. Towson holds a 7-1 advantage in the match-up and the Tigers have won all six meetings since the Phoenix joined the CAA in 2014. Last year the Tigers earned a pair of four-set victories.

Towson and William & Mary will be meeting for the 37th time in a series that began in 1976. The Tigers hold a slim 19-17 edge in the matchup after claiming a pair of 3-0 victories last season. Towson has won six straight in the series.

This One Counts: The real test begins for the Tigers as CAA action gets underway Friday night. The Tigers are 11-4 in CAA openers since joining the conference for the 2002 season. Towson is 2-2 in CAA openers under head coach Don Metil and 3-3 when opening CAA play on the road. This will be the first time the Tigers face Elon in their CAA opener.

Strong Starts: Towson captured its fourth straight tournament title after going 3-0 at the Golden Grizzlies Invitational last weekend. The Tigers improved to 14-0 on the year with the wins. This year's team now holds the school record for best start to a season. The previous record was 10 straight wins to start a season by the 2010 squad.

In the Poll: Riding their early season success, the Tigers moved up in the Volleyball Magazine Mid-Major Top 25 Poll this week. Towson moved up to No. 23 in this week's poll after receiving 79 points. Last week the Tigers had jumped into the poll at No. 25. The Mid-Major Top 25 features teams not part of one of the power five conferences (ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12).

Closing In on the Century Mark: Junior Jocelyn Kuilan had 41 kills last week which gave her 162 for the season and 960 kills for her career. Kuilan enters play this weekend needing just 40 kills to become the 14th player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills. She would become the first Tiger to reach the mark since Katy Buck (2010-12).

Take Me to Your Leader: The Tigers, who are on an 14-game win streak and off to the best start to a season in school history, are one of just seven remaining undefeated teams in the country. In statistics released by the NCAA on Monday, the Tigers rank first in the nation in opponents' hitting percentage (.102). The Tigers are also third in assists per set (14.02), fourth in digs per set (18.80), fifth in kills per set (14.78). Towson is 10th in the nation in team assists (701), team attacks per set (39.28) and 11th in team digs (940). The Tigers rank 13th nationally in team kills (739).

Individually, redshirt junior Anna Holehouse ranks 13th for total digs (276) and 18th in digs per set (5.52).  

Balance is Key: One of the keys to success for the Tigers this season has been a balanced attack. In five of the Towson's 14 matches this season the Tigers have had three or more players record double-digit kills. In three of those five contests the Tigers have had four players with double-digit kills.

Up Next: The Tigers return home to host Hofstra on Friday, Sept. 29 at 8 p.m. Towson then remains home and welcomes Northeastern to SECU Arena on Sunday, Oct. 1 at 1 p.m.