TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University women's volleyball team will keep things local for its first weekend of competition as the Tigers make the quick trip down Charles Street for the Baltimore Bash Presented by The Lord Baltimore Hotel and hosted by Loyola University Maryland.
 
Towson, which finished 27-6 overall last season, opens the Baltimore Bash against Radford University Friday afternoon at Reitz Arena. First serve is slated for 3 p.m. after host Loyola takes on Siena College at noon.
 
The Tigers double down on Saturday with a pair of matches, opening with Siena at 12:30 p.m., followed by a 7 p.m. nightcap against Loyola to conclude the Bash.
 
All three contests involving the Tigers will be streamed on WatchStadium.com. Please check TowsonTigers.com for match links.
 
Preseason Nods
Last week, the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) released its annual Preseason Coaches' Poll and its Preseason All-Conference Teams. The Tigers were voted to finish fourth in the league, which would secure a berth in the six-team CAA Tournament, hosted at the College of Charleston. Towson garnered 43 points in the poll. James Madison was picked first with 61 points and five first-place selections. Charleston was voted second with 59 points and the remaining four first-place votes while Hofstra was selected third with 51 points.
 
Additionally, Jocelyn Kuilan was one of six student-athletes named to the Preseason All-CAA Team. The Toa Baja, Puerto Rico native led the Tigers with 375 kills last season while playing in all 120 sets. She averaged 3.12 kills per set, scoring at a 24.7 attack percentage. The 6-foot, 2-inch Kuilan was among the team leaders in blocks as well with 54 total blocks, including 53 blocks assisted. The senior led Towson with 442.5 points last season, averaging 3.69 points per set.
 
It's How Close?
From the Towson Center to Reitz Arena, the Tigers will cover roughly four miles to begin the season. Round trip on Friday will cost the Tigers about 20 minutes, depending on traffic.
 
The Series: Radford (Tied 3-3)
Friday's match will be the seventh meeting all-time between the Tigers and the Highlanders of Radford. It will be the first showdown between the squads since the 2000 campaign, the same year a majority of this year's freshmen were born. Radford won the meeting 3-0, but two of the three sets were decided by three points. The two teams met twice that season, with Towson winning the first matchup 3-1.
 
The Series: Siena (First Meeting)
Towson and the Saints of Siena will be meeting for the first time in program history Saturday afternoon. It will be the Tigers first match against a school from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) since a 3-1 win over Fairfield on Sept. 12, 2015.
 
The Series: Loyola (Towson Leads 46-16)
As can be expected when schools are just four miles apart, the Tigers and Greyhounds have met aplenty. Towson leads the all-time series at 46-16. However, Saturday's match will be the first meeting between the programs since the 2012 campaign. It will be Towson head coach Don Metil's first showdown against Loyola while coaching at Towson and his first meeting since Sept. 2, 2006 while guiding Coppin State.
 
Seventh Season for Metil
Friday afternoon begins the seventh season at Towson for head coach Don Metil. With the Tigers, he is 114-50 overall, a winning percentage of .695. In his previous 16 seasons as a head coach, Metil has amassed a record of 344-180 (.656). Metil and the Tigers will look to surpass the 20-win mark for a fifth-straight season this year.
 
Kuilan's Big Swing
Senior Jocelyn Kuilan is firmly one of the top offensive players in program history. The right sider has knocked down 1,173 kills in her career at Towson, ranking eighth all-time. She needs just five more kills to surpass Heidi Schaefer (1991-94) and her mark of 1,177. April Hoffman (2002-05) leads the career records with 1,588 kills. Kuilan averages 391 kills per season, including a rookie season with 426. Kuilan will need 416 kills to take the program's career record.
 
Bringing Down the Holehouse
Redshirt senior libero Anna Holehouse is poised to become the program's all-time digs leader. Through her first three years, she has kept the ball up 1,673 times, just 196 short of Paige Sekerak's mark of 1,869 from 2011-14. She currently ranks 10^th all-time in CAA history.
 
- TowsonTigers.com –