TOWSON, Md. -- The Towson University women's volleyball team concludes the 2018 regular season this week with a pair of Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) matches. The Tigers split locales this week, hosting James Madison Wednesday night at 7 p.m. followed by a 6:30 first serve up Interstate 95 at Delaware.

First Serve
Towson begins the final week of the 2018 regular season with a pair of matches, splitting home and away action. The Tigers host James Madison in their home finale before making the quick trip to Newark, Delaware for a season finale showdown against the Blue Hens.

In The National Rankings
This week's teams were neither ranked nor mentioned in the polls this week.

Scouting the Tigers
The Tigers are hitting their stride down the stretch. Towson has won four of its last five matches, including its last three league showdowns. The lone set back in that span was a five setter against third-place Charleston on the road. It's a tight race on offense as senior Jocelyn Kuilan leads the Tigers with 284 kills while rookie Emily Jarome as tucked away 281. Junior Olivia Finckel has knocked down 261 kills to date. Jarome leads Towson with a 2.73 per-set kills average. Kuilan scores an average of 2.65 per set. Junior Marrisa Wonders has hoisted 500 assists this season, hitting the milestone for a third-straight season. Freshman Kristin Spengler is second with 292 helpers while senior Peyton Moyles is third behind 231. The Tigers do not have a standout on the service line. They have a quartet: Jarome, Anna Holehouse, Annie Ertz and Silvia Grassini have all scored 21 aces this season. Towson is one of two teams in the conference with at least four student-athletes with a minimum of 20 service aces. At the net, Towson has been a force as of late, making 23 total saves in the last three matches, including 15 last Monday at UNCW, six of which were solo efforts. Senior Olamide Sonuga leads Towson's stop chances with 98 total while Grassini is close behind with 93 stuffs. All-arounder Olivia Finckel is nearing the 90-block barrier as well, coming up with 89 to date, including a team-best nine solo blocks. Towson is ranked second in the CAA in total blocks with 232, trailing only Northeastern's 235. In the back row, Holehouse has made 511 digs this season, her third season with at least 500 digs and a career second-best 4.78 digs per set average. Wonders is second on the team with 221 digs while Ertz joins the pair in the 200-dig club with 205.

Scouting the Dukes
James Madison enters SECU Arena with a 20-5 overall record and a 12-2 mark in the league. The Dukes have won three of their last four, with the loss coming in four at UNCW. The JMU offense is a three-headed monster with Bryn Recker (275 kills), reigning CAA Defensive Player of the Week M'Kaela White (261) and Briley Brind'Amour (244) leading the way. The trio averages 2.89, 2.75 and 2.74 kills per set. Tilbe Yaglioglu sets the pace in service with 31 aces this season. Jacqui Koebel is second with 24. The offense runs through the hands of Sarah Martin, who has 980 assists to date, averaging 10.43 per set. The next-closest Duke is Sarah Driscoll's 83 assists. Driscoll leads along the back line, posting 473 digs at a 4.98 per set clip. White leads JMU at the net with a CAA-best 142 blocks. The next-closest CAA student-athlete in the blocks column has 118. The Dukes have been nearly unstoppable at home this season, holding an 11-1 mark at Sinclair Gymnasium, but struggle on the road, coming to Tigertown with a 5-4 road record. James Madison has lost its last two road matches, falling in four at UNCW (Oct. 27) and Hofstra (Oct. 21).

Towson-James Madison History
Wednesday's match will be the 61st meeting between the Tigers and the Dukes on the volleyball court. The two schools, separated by a three-hour drive, have nearly split the series history. The Dukes hold a slight 32-28, but the Tigers have won 15 of the 21 showdowns at home. Since opening SECU Arena for the 2013 season, Towson has reeled off victories in all five meetings between the teams at the Tigers' new venue over the Dukes. The two teams first met back in 1976, a 2-0 (15-9, 15-6) win in Towson's first season as a varsity program.

Towson-James Madison By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record  JMU leads 32-28
at Towson  Towson 15-6
at James Madison JMU 19-8
at Neutral Sites JMU 6-1
at Unknown Sites Towson 2-1
First Meeting 1976, Towson 2-0
Last Meeting Sept. 29, 2018
James Madison 3, Towson 1
Streak JMU +2

Last Time Out vs. JMU | Sept. 29, 2018 | Harrisonburg, Va. | Sinclair Gymnasium
It was Towson's first road CAA match of the season as the Tigers left SECU Arena for the first time in 10 matches to head to Sinclair Gymnasium. The Tigers fell in four sets, 15-25, 24-26, 25-22, 20-25, in the first meeting with the Dukes. Olivia Finckel led the Tigers with 20 kills on 42 swings while Emily Jarome tagged the Dukes for nine kills. Marrisa Wonders exited with an 11-assist, 12 dig double-double. Anna Holehouse led Towson with 20 digs. Jocelyn Kuilan and Olamide Sonuga finished the night with four block assists apiece. James Madison had four players in double-digit kills, led by 11 apiece from Bryn Recker and Kelly Vahos. M'Kaela White had nine block assists in the match.

With a Win Wednesday Towson Would...
- Extend its winning streak to four in a row, all coming in CAA action.
- Win its sixth-straight match at SECU Arena over James Madison.
- Halt a two-match slide against the Dukes.
- Split the 2018 regular season series with the Dukes after falling 3-1 in the first showdown.
- Finish its season at SECU Arena with a 7-8 overall mark, but a 5-3 record in league matches

Scouting the Blue Hens (As of Nov. 6)
Delaware enters this week with a 9-17 overall record and sits at 3-11 in league play. The Blue Hens will take on the Dukes Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. Maria Bellinger has been the top offesnive player for Delaware this season, scoring 437 kills while Cailey Bracken is second with 263 kills. Bellinger averages 4.37 kills per set, leading the CAA by three quarters of a kill per set. She is one of two CAA student-athletes with at least 400 kills. Andie Hanus is the top back rower, coming up with 508 digs so far this season, averaging 5.03 digs per set. Friday night's showdown will be the Blue Hens' penultimate match of the season as Delaware will not qualify for the upcoming CAA Tournament.

Last Time Out vs. Delaware | Sept. 21, 2018 | Towson, Md. | SECU Arena
It was a clean sweep for the Tigers as Towson opened league play with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-22) win over visiting Delaware. Towson had a versatile night on the attack as Jocelyn Kuilan led with 11 kills, but six other Tigers registered multiple kills. Olivia Finckel and Emily Jarome each scored nine kills. The Tigers finished with 17 block assists, with six coming off the hands of Olamide Sonuga. Anna Holehouse made 24 digs in just three sets while Marrisa Wonders handed out 20 assists. The Tigers were called for just one ball handling error on the evening.

Senior Honors
Prior to last Sunday's game, the Towson University women's volleyball coaching staff and student-athletes recognized the program's four seniors: Anna Holehouse, Jocelyn Kuilan, Peyton Moyles and Olamide Sonuga.

Welcome to the Party, Pal
Towson has quietly become a strong team at the net, registering 232 blocks so far this season, with at least three more matches and at least nine sets guaranteed. Those 232 blocks rank eighth all-time in program history. At least two Tigers will likely go over the 100-block mark this season, with Olamide Sonuga registering 98 total stops with Silvia Grassini close with 93. Olivia Finckel enters this week with 89 total blocks. The Tigers rank second in the CAA in total team blocks while sitting 67th in Division I in the same category.

2,000 Digs
Early in the Tigers' first set at James Madison, redshirt senior libero Anna Holehouse became the first player in Towson history to post 2,000 digs. She finished with match with 20 digs, bringing her career total to 2,184. She is also the seventh player in CAA history to reach the 2,000 digs mark. She trails James Madison's Jena Pierson (2,189) for third all-time in league history. To date, Holehouse has 511 digs in 2018. She needs another 217 digs to overtake the league's all-time record of 2,401, held by Delaware's Stephanie Barry.

Kuilan's Big Swing
Senior Jocelyn Kuilan is firmly one of the top offensive players in program history. The right sider has knocked down 1,457 kills in her career at Towson, ranking third all-time and is the sixth player in program history with at least 1,300 kills. In the Tigers' five set win at Hofstra, Kuilan surpassed Liz Goubeaux's mark of 1,404 (2001-04). April Hoffman (2002-05) leads the career records with 1,588 kills. Kuilan will need 131 kills to take the program's career record.

Sets on Sets on Sets on Sets
Two Tigers in their final seasons are climbing the program's all-time sets played list. Jocelyn Kuilan has seen time in 473 sets since stepping on the court for the first time in 2015. Kuilan is third all-time in program history with Maddie Haseltine's 467. Next on the list is Heidi Schaefer at 479 career sets played. Redshirt senior Anna Holehouse has seen action in 460 sets, ranking fourth all-time. Lindsay Flaherty ranks first all-time with 481 career sets played. Kuilan will likely pass Flaherty for career sets played no later than the first round of the upcoming CAA Tournament.

Time Notes
The regular season finale at the University of Delaware is set for a 6:30 p.m. first serve at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark, Delaware. The match was originally listed for a 7 p.m. start on TowsonTigers.com.

Grassini Named NewDay USA Female Student-Athlete of the Week (Nov. 6)
Junior middle blocker Silvia Grassini had herself a week at the net, making 16 block assists in just 10 sets as the Tigers went 3-0 in CAA action this week. The Padua, Italy native averaged 1.60 blocks per set to lead Towson this week while adding a trio of digs. She helped her defensive cause by dropping in four service aces this week. Grassini had a strong attack week as well, knocking down 27 kills on 52 swings for a .346 hitting percentage while playing all 10 sets this week.

Conference Championship Site Preview ... Sort Of
This weekend, the Tigers will get a chance to practice travelling to the site of this year's CAA Women's Volleyball Championship Tournament. Even though the Tigers and Cougars will square off in TD Arena on Saturday, the league tournament will be contested at the F. Mitchell Johnson Center as the College of Charleston hosts the 2018 Gildan Charleston Classic at TD Arena. Towson currently sits in fifth place in the CAA standings, which would qualify the Tigers for the CAA Tournament if the season ended today. The top six teams in the league qualify.

Home Sweet Home: Part One
On Wednesday night, freshman Emily Jarome had the chance to play in her home state of Delaware for the first time as a Tiger after completing her scholastic career at Padua Academy in Dover, Delaware. Memorial Hall, located on the campus of Delaware State University, sits roughly 45 miles from Jarome's hometown of Wilmington, Del. Jarome had a solid showing back in her home state, finishing with five kills on 13 swings, posting two assists and adding three service aces to her line.

Jarome will get a chance to play much closer to home in the regular season finale on Nov. 9 as the Tigers make the quick trip to Newark, Delaware to face the Blue Hens of Delaware. The Bob Carpenter Center is roughly 15 miles from Padua Academy.

Tigers in the Community
Sunday was a busy day for the Tigers. Beginning at 9 a.m., the Tigers helped Towson University in hosting the 2018 Autism Awareness Walk at Johnny Unitas ® Stadium. Following the Autism Awareness Walk, the Tigers crossed the street to SECU Arena to face defending CAA Champion College of Charleston with a noon first serve. The Tigers sported their blue Autism jerseys for the duration of Sunday's showdown.