TOWSON, Md. -- One final road trip awaits the Towson University women's volleyball team as the Tigers make their annual swing down south for a pair of matches at the College of Charleston on Friday night followed by a Sunday showdown at UNCW.

First Serve
The final road test of the 2019 regular season awaits the Towson University women's volleyball team as the Tigers head south for a pair at Charleston and UNCW on Friday and Sunday, respectively. Towson looks to close out the regular season sweep of both foes.

In The National Rankings
None of the teams involved in this weekend's matches are mentioned in the AVCA Poll.

Scouting the Tigers
Towson (22-2, 12-0 CAA) fought past both James Madison (3-1) on Friday and Delaware (3-0) on Sunday to remain unbeaten in league play this season. The Tigers rallied past JMU in the third set, trailing 24-20 to win the frame 26-24 to ignite a win. The Tigers high-octane but versatile offense is led by Emily Jarome, who has 256 kills (3.16) with reigning CAA Offensive Player of the Week Olivia Finckel close behind with 227 kills (2.84). Two Tigers joined the 200 kill club last weekend as Annie Ertz (2.61) and Lydia Wiers (2.48) each have 201. Silvia Grassini inches closer to the group with 178 kills (2.20). Wiers (.430) and Grassini (.382) are a one-two punch in the middle as they are ranked first and second, respectively, in the CAA in hitting percentage. Wiers is second in the league in blocks per set (1.25) while Grassini is fourth (1.17), just one spot ahead of Finckel (1.11). The team is blocking at a historic rate, averaging 2.69 stops per set, which is tops in the 25-point rally era. The Tigers are the only program with three players averaging at least a block per set. Setter Marrisa Wonders runs the offense with 920 total assists, averaging a league-best 11.36. She averages nearly a dozen helpers per set in league play (11.98) as well. Camryn Allen leads the Tigers with 30 service aces, extending her ace streak to 20 straight matches. Allen also paces Towson with 303 total digs (3.74). Among the Tigers' top backliners, she has the top receiving percentage at .963.

Scouting the Cougars
The Cougars enter the weekend with a 6-18 overall record and sit at 3-9 in the league. Charleston snapped a six-game road schneid with a 3-1 win at Elon on Sunday. Mandy Napierala leads the team wtih 236 kills (2.78) and is the only Cougar north of 200 to date. Lauren Freed is second with 187 (2.15). Peyton Eisnaugle has the top hitting percentage at .330 with 159 kills on 351 swings with 43 errors. Three Cougars have put up over 200 assists, led by 318 from Tori Carpenter (5.58). Brooke Harris is second with 263 (3.42) while Amani Dunston is third with 245 (4.08). Defensively, Logan Manusky is the top in the back row with 413 digs (4.75) with Freed in second with 251 (2.89). At the net, Eisnaugle leads with 68 total blocks (0.81) while Claire Campbell is second with 53 (0.77). 

Towson-Charleston History
Friday night will be the 15th meeting all-time since the Tigers and Cougars first clashed in 2007. Charleston leads the series with an 11-3 margin, but the Tigers halted a six-match slide against the Cougars earlier this year with a 3-0 sweep on Oct. 20. Towson is looking to close out its second-ever regular season sweep of the Cougars. The Tigers last put the sweep on back in 2015 with wins of 3-1 and 3-0 on Oct. 18 and Oct. 30, respectively. Towson is on the hunt for its first win over the Cougars in Charleston since that Oct. 18, 2015 match. That currently stands as the Tigers only win over the Cougars at TD Arena.

Towson-Charleston By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Charleston Leads 11-3
at Towson Charleston 5-2
at Charleston Charleston 6-1
at Neutral Sites n/a
at Unknown Sites n/a
First Meeting Sept. 1, 2007 (CofC 3, Towson 0)
Last Meeting Oct. 20, 2019
Towson 3, Charleston 0
Streak Towson +1

Last Time Out vs. Charleston | Oct. 20, 2019 | Towson, Md. | SECU Arena
Towson capped off the first leg of the conference schedule with a clean sweep of visiting Charleston (25-18, 25-21, 25-16) while hitting .250 for the match. The Tigers were aided by five service aces, including three from Camryn Allen. Offensively, Olivia Finckel and Silvia Grassini led the way with 10 kills apiece while Lydia Wiers finished with nine. BLOCKtober was in full swing as the Tigers batted down 15 Cougar attempts, including eight assisted stops from Grassini. Claire Campbell led the offense for Charleston with six kills as the Cougars were limited to a .117 hitting percentage as a team. 

Scouting the Seahawks
The Seahawks sit at 14-11 overall and 4-8 before opening the doors of Hanover Hall for three matches this week. Before Sunday's showdown, UNCW will host Northeastern on Thursday and Hofstra on Saturday. Jaime Thompson leads the offense with 2.43 kills per set (202 total), but has a hitting percentage of .119. Madison Peters leads in total kills with 235 (2.37). Brynn Montgomery has 468 assists, averaging 4.73 per set. Katie Lanz is second with 286 assists (3.11). The Seahawks have been successful at the service line with four players posting more than 20 aces. Lanz leads the way with 29 while Montgomery and Kendall Bender have 27 apiece. Bender leads the way at the net with 105 total blocks, averaging 1.06 per set. Peters is second with 79 total stops (0.80). Anna Weissmann leads the charge in the back row with 412 total digs, averaging 4.16 per set.

Towson-UNCW By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Towson Leads 31-11
at Towson Towson 16-1
at UNCW Towson 10-7
at Neutral Sites Towson 5-3
at Unknown Sites n/a
First Meeting 1979 (Towson 2, UNCW 0)
Last Meeting Oct. 18, 2019
Towson 3, UNCW 1
Streak Towson +7

Towson-UNCW History
The Tigers and Seahawks meet for the 43rd all-time since the series began back in 1979. Towson leads the all-time meetings with a 31-11 edge, including a 16-1 mark at home. On the road, Towson holds a 10-7 edge in Wilmington. Towson has won the last seven meetings against UNCW, including a 3-1 win (25-21, 25-11, 20-25, 25-16) at SECU Arena on Oct. 18. The Tigers are looking for their third-straight win over the the Seahawks at Hanover Hall. With a win, Towson would capture the season sweep of UNCW for a fourth-straight season.

With a Win Over Charleston, Towson Would...
- Extend its winning streak to 17-straight matches, the longest for the program since the winning 18 straight matches during the 2012 season.
- Win its second-straight match over Charleston, tying Towson's longest winning streak over the Cougars in series history.
- Be Towson's eighth-straight win away from home, dating back to the Tiger Invitational on Sept. 20 at Loyola.
- See Towson improve to 13-0 in league play for the first time since the Tigers went 12-0 in league play in 2012.
- Be the Tigers' 18th straight conference win, dating back to the end of the 2018 season.

One For the Money...
The Tigers need just one win in the next four matches to secure at least a share of the 2019 CAA Women's Volleyball regular season championship. Towson would be the number one seed for the upcoming CAA Tournament as the Tigers hold the tiebreaker over James Madison after sweeping the Dukes in the regular season...

...Two for the Show
And any two wins for the Tigers in the next four matches would give Towson the outright CAA Women's Volleyball Regular Season Championship.

Lock it Up
With its wins over James Madison and Delaware last weekend, the Tigers secured a bye in the first round of the upcoming CAA Tournament. Towson controls its destiny to lock up the top spot in the coming weeks. With any win in the next two weeks, Towson would secure the number one seed in the CAA Tournament. The league's automatic qualifying berth to the NCAA Tournament will be on the line Nov. 21-24 and will be hosted at Hofstra's David S. Mack Physical Education Center in Hempstead, New York. Seeding is still to be determined through the remainder of the regular season.

MOREwards
For the eighth week in a row, a Towson University women's volleyball player has won a weekly honor from the league office as senior right side Olivia Finckel was named CAA Offensive Player of the Week on Monday, her first career weekly honor from the CAA.

Finckel helped Towson to a 2-0 week with wins over James Madison (3-1) on Friday and Delaware (3-0) on Sunday. Towson secured a bye for the upcoming CAA Tournament with the pair of wins. For the week, Finckel batted down 32 kills, averaging 4.57 per set. She hit for .391 in the seven sets against teams ranked number two (JMU) and four (UD) in opponent hitting percentage. Finckel added five digs and eight blocks (1.14) to her week as well as Towson remained unbeaten in league play at 12-0 while running the winning streak out to 16 straight.

Climbing the Books
Senior middle blocker Silvia Grassini has made her presence known at the net during her three years with the Black & Gold. The Padua, Italy native has racked 301 career blocks, ranking 12th all-time in program history. Jessica Beck (1994-97) is 11th with 305 while Candace Steadman (2012-16) is 10th with 315. Grassini is the 12th player in program history with at least 300 blocks.

In the current 25-point rally scoring system (2008), Grassini ranks fourth in program history among players whose entire careers were played from 2008 on.

25-Point Rally Scoring Era Careers (2008-Present)
1) 427 - Lindsey Flaherty - 2013-16
2) 322 - Susan Gansor - 2008-11
3) 315 - Candace Steadman - 2012-16
4) 301 - Silvia Grassini - 2017-Present

Life, The Universe and Everything
The NCAA released its most recent Rankings Percentage Index (RPI) earlier this week and the Tigers continue to move up the rankings. The Tigers jumped up five spots in this week's RPI to 42 with a 22-2 overall record, including 8-1 on the road, 10-1 at home and 4-0 at neutral sites.

"Official" Regional Rankings
While not quite official, the AVCA recently released a regional ranking poll compiled by Rich Kern. The Tigers rank fifth in the East Region, trailing only Power Five members Pittsburgh, Louisville, Notre Dame and Florida State. Beyond Towson, the remainder of the East Region poll includes Coastal Carolina, James Madison, Georgia Tech and Winthrop.

Let Me Help You With That
Despite playing in a 6-2 rotation for the first three years of her career, senior setter Marrisa Wonders is inching closer to the record books. The Mount Joy, Pennsylvanian has hoisted 3,153 assists in her career, aided by 91 combined assists against James Madison and Delaware last week. Over the weekend, she surpassed Towson Hall of Famer Mary Clare Coghlan's fourth-place mark of 3,078. Up next on the list for third place is Heather Hutson's mark of 3,544  from 1995-98.

Wonders is having a career season in 2019, pushing up 920 assists in just 81 sets, averaging 11.36 per set. Her total to date ranks as the most in her career, surpassing a rookie season when she logged 869, followed by 758 as a sophomore. Wonders currently leads Towson's 25-point rally era in career assists.

Two Legs vs Four Legs
Mascots come in all shapes, sizes, animals and breeds and people. But that hasn't stopped the Tigers this season. To date, the Tigers are 14-0 against mascots with four legs (Bobcats, Bears, Tigers, Great Danes, Greyhounds, Wildcats, Dukes (dog), Huskies, Pride (lions), Tribe (griffin) and Cougars). Towson has faired well against two-legged mascots, going 8-2 to date with wins over Pirates, Cavaliers, Penguins, Highlanders, Blue Hens, Phoenix and Seahawks. Towson's lone pair of losses came against two-legged foes, the Scarlet Knights and Chanticleers.

Ace Up Her Sleeve
Junior libero Camryn Allen doesn't have the biggest serve, but it's effective. Allen is second on the team in service aces this season, dropping in 30 through 24 matches. More impressive, is the current tear Allen is on; the 5-7 defensive specialist has logged at least one ace in each of the Tigers' last 20 matches. She is the only player in the CAA to rack up at least 10 matches this season with at least one service ace.

The Law Firm of Finckel, Grassini and Wiers
If you've been hurt by a block this season, chances are it's from Olivia Finckel, Silvia Grassini or Lydia Wiers. Towson is the only team in the CAA to have three players ranked in the top five in blocks per set. Wiers, the rookie, is second in the conference with a 1.25 per-set average. Grassini is currently fourth in the league with a 1.17 average while Finckel is fifth in the league at a 1.11 clip. Towson is one of two programs in the league with multiple players averaging a block per set and is the only team in the conference with multiple players in the top five.

Stuck in the Middle With You
The Tigers are boasting a one-two punch in the middle this season between freshman Lydia Wiers and senior Silvia Grassini. The pair is ranked first and second, respectively, in the CAA in hitting percentage. Wiers leads the league at a .430 percentage, scoring 201 kills on 372 swings with 41 errors. Grassini is second with a .382 hitting percentage on 178 kills, 359attempts and 41 errors. Towson is the only program in the league with multiple players in the top five. 

Getcha Brooms Out
The Tigers are a perfect 16-0 in three-set matches this season, sweeping Delaware (25-20, 25-21, 25-17) on Sunday. Under head coach Don Metil, the Tigers are 85-25 in three-setters and have had double-digit sweeps in each of the last six seasons. Under Metil, Towson has now surpassed its previous highwater mark for sweeps with the 16-2 mark set the 2014 campaign. Towson has already surpassed its winning sweep mark from last season after going 10-6 in three set matches in 2018.

Wins on Wins on Wins on Wins
Over the last five seasons, the Tigers have been a tough out for opponents. Between 2014-18, the Tigers have racked up a 121-41 overall record, which ranks 19th among NCAA Division I teams in terms of total wins in that span. With a winning percentage of .747 over the last five years, Towson ranks 22nd among fellow Division I teams in terms of winning percentage.

The ACC Won't Let Me Be Me
The night cap on Friday, Sept. 6 was the sixth time under head coach Don Metil that the Tigers squared up with an opponent from ACC. Under Metil, the Tigers are now 3-3 against the league, topping Virginia 3-1 at the Rutgers Invitational. The Tigers have won their last three matches against the ACC, with two wins over Virginia and a sweep of Miami last season. In 2017, Towson went 1-1, sweeping Virginia before falling 3-0 against Syracuse in the NIVC Tournament in Hamilton, New York In Metil's first season at Towson (2013), the Tigers fell in both matches against ACC opponents NC State and Virginia Tech, both going to four sets.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!
This fall, the Towson Tigers will check off each animal on the fabled list from the Wizard of Oz. Towson faced the Bears of Morgan Saturday on Aug. 31 before sweeping Tigers of a different color against Princeton (Sept. 7). Towson got the regular season sweep Hofstra, which uses lions for its mascots, on Oct. 27 in four sets after a sweep on Oct. 6. To date, Towson is 4-0 against the Wizard of Oz.

Tigers in the Community
The Towson University athletics department deems community service as one of its highest priorities to give back to the Greater Baltimore area.
- For the 7th consecutive year, the department exceeded 10,000 hours of community service to the Greater Baltimore region, finishing with 11,162 hours of community service in the 2018-19 academic season.
- Towson ranked #1 nationally for community service and won the 2018 National Championship for Community Service through the Helper Helper NCAA Team Works Competition.
- Towson had a 97% participation rate, attended 118 community service opportunities and volunteered with 19 organizations.
- Towson won the 2018 Volunteer of the Year Award from Susan G. Komen of Maryland.