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Marrisa Wonders and Lydia Wiers
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Women's Volleyball

Towson Dominates Volleyball Postseason Awards

RICHMOND, Va. -- In advance of the 2019 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Women's Volleyball Tournament this weekend, the league office has announced its postseason honors and the Towson University women's volleyball team was well represented.

Towson, which finished the regular season 26-2 and became the first team to ever go 16-0 in CAA play, collected four of the league's five major awards. Freshman middle blocker Lydia Wiers was selected as the CAA Rookie of the Year while Don Metil was tabbed CAA Coach of the Year. Senior Marrisa Wonders was selected as both the CAA Setter of the Year and the CAA Player of the Year.

In addition to their major awards, Wiers and Wonders were named First Team All-CAA. They were joined on the first team by teammate Olivia Finckel, a senior right side hitter. Senior middle blocker Silvia Grassini and sophomore outside hitter Emily Jarome collected Second Team All-CAA plaudits. Wiers was also named to the CAA All-Rookie Squad.

The four major award winners this season represent the most for the Tigers since joining the CAA for the 2002 season. Towson had three major award winners in 2015, which marks the last time the Tigers had a major award winner. Metil has now been selected as the CAA Coach of the Year three times as he was tabbed in both 2014 and 2015.

Wonders is the third Tiger in the program's CAA history to earn CAA Setter of the Year honors, joining Aubrey Kirven (2012) and Mary Clare Coghlan (2004). She is the third Tiger to win CAA Player of the Year plaudits lining up with Katy Buck (2011) and Liz Goubeaux (2004). Wonders is just the second person in CAA history to win both Setter and Player of the Year honors in the same season (Shellane Ogoshi, Hofstra, 2005). Wonders leads the CAA in assists per set at 11.58, a full assist more per set than second place. The Mount Joy, Pennsylvania native has 1,112 assists this season, becoming the 15th player in program history to log at least 1,000 assists in a season. She has the third-most assists for a Tiger in the 25-point rally scoring era, trailing only Kirven's 2012 (1,236) and 2011 (1,200) marks. Wonders ran the most versatile offense in the league as she distributed the ball well enough for a league-best five hitters to surpass the 200-kill mark. Despite that many touches, Wonders committed just 11 ball handling errors during the regular season, despite playing with a hand injury. The senior added 62 kills to her stat line while posting 14 double-doubles this season, thanks to 272 digs, averaging a team second-best 2.83 per set.

A five-time CAA Rookie of the Week honoree, Wiers is Towson's first Rookie of the Year since Jocelyn Kuilan was selected in 2015 while becoming the the fourth Tiger to earn the CAA Rookie of the Year Award (April Hoffman - 2002, Alysha Fanning  - 2006). Wiers became the first freshman to lead the CAA in hitting percentage since at least 2005, knocking down kills at a .426 percent clip, which ranks sixth in the nation. She finished the regular season with 231 total kills in 89 sets played, averaging 2.60 per set. The Willard, Ohio native is the only freshman ranked in the top 10 in hitting percentage in the country. Wiers made her presence known at the net as well, blocking 108 opponent attacks during the regular season, averaging a league second-best 1.21 per set. The rookie committed just eight blocking errors all season.

Metil lead Towson to the CAA's first-ever 16-0 season while he and his staff guided the team to the program's third season unbeaten in the CAA (2003 14-0, 2012 12-0). Metil has now been named CAA Coach of the Year three times, adding to his 2014 and 2015 awards. He is the third Towson coach to earn CAA Coach of the Year honors as Bruce Atkinson was named in both 2011 and 2012 while Chris Riley was selected in 2003. Metil and his 2019 staff guided the team to 20 straight wins during the regular season, resetting the program record for consecutive wins. Dating back to last season, the Tigers have won 21 straight regular season CAA matches. The Tigers' current 20-match win streak ranks as the fifth-longest active streak in the country while the Tigers' 21 straight CAA wins rank tied for fourth nationally for consecutive conference wins.

Having a career-best season, Finckel is among the five Tigers with over 200 kills, ranking second on the team with 282, averaging 2.97 per set. She is hitting at a .240 percentage this season and has been a key component to Towson's hitting success. A versatile player, Finckel has 107 total blocks to her credit, averaging 1.13 per set, and is one of three Tigers with at least 200 kills and 100 blocks. The Dulaney High School product has 83 digs this year, averaging just shy of one dig per set as a front row player. Finckel ranks seventh in the league in kills per set and fifth in blocks per set. 

Another senior having a career year, Grassini is among one of the best blockers in the CAA. To date, Grassini has a team-best 115 total blocks, averaging 1.20 per set, a number that ranks third in the league and second on the team. On the offensive side of the net, the Padua, Italy native has batted down 214 kills and is one of three Tigers with at least 200 kills and 100 blocks. She is averaging 2.23 kills per set while hitting at a .381 percent clip, ranking third in the league. Grassini has scored 14 service aces this season as well with just seven service errors.

In her second year with the Black & Gold, Jarome is one of the Tigers' top threats on offense, putting down a team-best 292 kills, averaging 3.07 per set this season. She is one of six players in the league averaging better than three kills per set, a stat she leads the Tigers in. Hailing from Wilmington, Delaware, Jarome is hitting at .210 this season, a slight bump from her rookie season in 2018. On defense, Jarome has a career-high 229 digs, averaging 2.41 per set while adding 48 total blocks to her line, averaging a half block per set in 2018.

Top-seeded Towson returns to the court Saturday afternoon in the semifinals of the 2019 CAA Women's Volleyball Tournament. The No. 1 Tigers will face the winner of No. 4 Northeastern vs. No. 5 Elon Saturday at 2 p.m. 
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Players Mentioned

Katy Buck

#2 Katy Buck

OH
5' 10"
Junior
Aubrey Kirven

#11 Aubrey Kirven

S
5' 6"
Senior
Jocelyn Kuilan

#6 Jocelyn Kuilan

RS
6' 2"
Senior
Olivia Finckel

#11 Olivia Finckel

OH
6' 2"
Senior
Silvia Grassini

#9 Silvia Grassini

MB
5' 10"
Senior
Emily Jarome

#16 Emily Jarome

OH
5' 11"
Sophomore
Marrisa Wonders

#12 Marrisa Wonders

S
5' 11"
Senior
Lydia Wiers

#6 Lydia Wiers

MB
6' 2"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Katy Buck

#2 Katy Buck

5' 10"
Junior
OH
Aubrey Kirven

#11 Aubrey Kirven

5' 6"
Senior
S
Jocelyn Kuilan

#6 Jocelyn Kuilan

6' 2"
Senior
RS
Olivia Finckel

#11 Olivia Finckel

6' 2"
Senior
OH
Silvia Grassini

#9 Silvia Grassini

5' 10"
Senior
MB
Emily Jarome

#16 Emily Jarome

5' 11"
Sophomore
OH
Marrisa Wonders

#12 Marrisa Wonders

5' 11"
Senior
S
Lydia Wiers

#6 Lydia Wiers

6' 2"
Freshman
MB