TOWSON, Md. – After this weekend, it's almost all Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) action for the Towson University women's volleyball team. But first on the schedule is the Tiger Invitational, Towson's final tournament of the regular season.
 
This weekend, the Tigers welcome Ball State, La Salle and UMBC to SECU Arena for six total matches on Friday and Saturday.
 
Tiger Invitational Schedule
Friday, Sept. 14 | UMBC vs. Ball State | 3:30 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 14 | Towson vs. La Salle | 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 15 | UMBC vs. La Salle | 10:30 a.m.
Saturday, Sept. 15 | Towson vs. Ball State | 1 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 15 | La Salle vs. Ball State | 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 15 | Towson vs. UMBC | 7 p.m.
 
Broadcast Information
All six matches at SECU Arena for the Tiger Invitational will be streamed live and free on TowsonTigers.com. Video and audio streams will be available. To find links for the games, in addition to live stats, please visit the women's volleyball schedule page of TowsonTigers.com.
 
Last Time Out
Last weekend, the Tigers hosted some of the top talent from around Division I at the Towson Invitational. The Tigers hosted Princeton, Long Beach State, Missouri and Ohio State for an eight-match weekend at SECU Arena.
 
Despite the Tigers going 0-4 on the weekend, Towson took both Princeton and Missouri to five sets and pushed Ohio State to the edge, falling 3-0 in the Towson Invitational finale.
 
The Invitational produced an ESPN SportsCenter Top 10 play in the Tigers' match against Princeton on Thursday. After a would-be block bounced off one Tiger, junior Annie Ertz got her foot under the ball and over the net. Princeton's next rally could not find home before rookie Tiger Emily Jarome smashed down the winning kill. The play was the No. 8 play on SportsCenter that evening and was selected as the No. 4 NCAA Play of the Week.
 
Home Sweet Home.
Seriously. Home Sweet Home,
The next two weeks are an excellent time for Towson fans to get out to SECU Arena to see the Tigers in action. In addition to last weekend's Towson Invitational and this weekend's Tiger Invitational, the Tiges open CAA action next weekend with three-straight home matches. On Friday, Sept. 21, the Tigers kick off the league schedule with longtime rival Delaware at 7 p.m., followed by a 7 p.m. match the following evening against Northeastern. Towson plays its third match in a four day stretch on Monday with Hofstra, also at 7 p.m.
 
The Series: La Salle (5-4 Overall) (Towson Leads 18-2)
The Friday night cap at the Tiger Invitational between the Tigers and the Explorers will be the 21^st meeting all-time between the programs. It will be the first meeting between the Towson and La Salle since the 2014 season when Towson won in straight sets 25-11, 25-14, 25-20. That last meeting was also held in Tigertown for the Towson Invitational.
 
The Series: Ball State (6-4 Overall) (Ball State Leads 1-0)
Saturday afternoon will be just the second meeting in program history with Ball State. It will be the first meeting between the programs since the 2009 campaign at the Towson Invitational. The visiting Cardinals won in three sets (25-17, 25-11, 25-18).
 
The Series: UMBC (3-6 Overall) (UMBC leads 34-32)
As can be expected with schools separated by I-695, the Tigers and Retrievers have met plenty of times. Saturday night's Towson Invitational Finale will be the 67^th meeting all-time between the programs. The Retrievers lead the series by a pair of victories, 34-32. Despite the proximity, Towson and UMBC will meet for the first time since the 2013 campaign, head coach Don Metil's first season at Towson. The Retrievers won in three sets (27-25, 25-18, 25-16) in Catonsville.
 
Sixth Season for Metil
Head coach Don Metil is now in his sixth season at the helm of the Towson volleyball program. With the Tigers, he is 117-57 overall, a winning percentage of .672. In 17 seasons as a head coach, Metil has amassed a record of 348-187 (.650). 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 1,268 kills in her career at Towson, ranking sixth all-time. She needs 83 more kills to surpass Maddie Haseltine (2005-08). 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 320 kills to take the program's career record. Kuilan continues to climb in the program's all-time sets played list. She has seen time in 403 sets, ranking among the top 20. The program's all-time mark is 481 sets played by Lindsey Flaherty (2013-16).
 
Bringing Down the Holehouse
Redshirt senior libero Anna Holehouse is poised to become the program's all-time digs leader. In her four seasons, she has kept the ball up 1,865 times, just five short of Paige Sekerak's mark of 1,869 from 2011-14. She currently ranks ninth all-time in CAA history. Holehouse is poised to becomes Towson's all-time digs leader this weekend, likely in the Tigers first match on Friday night against La Salle. This weekend, Holehouse will climb into the Tigers' leaderboard for sets played. She currently has seen time in 390 sets and will move into the program's top 25.
 
- TowsonTigers.com –