TOWSON, Md. -- It's a semi-home weekend for the Towson University women's volleyball team as the Tigers take on Loyola Friday night in Baltimore before hosting the remaining five matches of the Tiger Invitational Saturday and Sunday.

First Serve
This weekend marks the end of Invitational season for the Towson University women's volleyball team as the Black & Gold plays host to Loyola, New Hampshire and NJIT in the Tiger Invitational. Sunday's match against UNH will be Towson's second to last nonconference match of the year.

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

Scouting the Tigers
Towson continues to roll after going 2-1 at the Towson Invitational last weekend, topping Youngstown State and UAlbany in sweeps but falling 3-2 against unbeaten Coastal Carolina. Towson looks for its second revenge win of the season Friday night at Loyola. On the attack, Towson is paced by opposite hitter Olivia Finckel and outside hitter Emily Jarome, who average 3.30 and 2.81 kills per set, respectively. Finckel has 99 kills already in 2019 with Jarome in second with 87. Towson has been strong in the middle as well, backed by rookie Lydia Wiers, who averages 1.19 blocks per set, and Defensive Player of the Week Silvia Grassini, who racks 1.10 blocks per set. The pair lead Towson's hitting percentages as well, with Wiers swinging .448 percent and Grassini at a .436 percentage. In the back row, Camryn Allen averages 3.65 digs per set and has 113 total digs across 31 sets played. On the service line, Jarome leads Towson with a dozen aces in just 11 matches. Marrisa Wonders has carried the setting load, posting 337 assists this season, averaging nearly 11 per set. She has added 13 total blocks alongside 22 kills as well. While the Tigers have racked up 52 service aces, averaging 1.68 per set, Towson's receviers have done well on the serve as well, allowing only 37 opponent aces this year. The Tigers are 2-1 at SECU Arena this season following last weekend's Towson Invitational.

Scouting the Greyhounds
Loyola improved to 6-5 on the year after winning its fifth-straight of 2019 with a 3-1 decision over Coppin State Tuesday night. Two Greyhounds average north of three kills per set: Ann Ernst (3.61) and Abby Hamilton (3.24). Ernst hits at a .126 percentage, however, while Hamilton hits at a .224 percentage. Adara Kellogg leads the Greyhounds at the net with 23 total blocks and a 0.77 per-set average. Molly Jarvis leads in total blocks with 30 and carries a 0.67 per-set average. Hamilton and Ashley Dwyer have landed 15 service aces apiece, accounting for 30 of the Greyhounds' 55 aces.

Towson-Loyola History
It's a quick stroll down Charles Street between the two schools and as such, Friday's showdown will be the 60th meeting all-time between Towson and Loyola. The Tigers have controlled the series with a 44-15 margin, including a 13-8 mark on Loyola's campus. But the Greyhounds won last season's meeting 3-1 at the Baltimore Bash, hosted at Loyola's Reitz Arena, the site of Friday's showdown. 

Towson-Loyola State By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Towson Leads 44-15
at Towson  Towson 13-2
at Loyola Towson 13-8
at Neutral Sites Towson 16-5
at Unknown Sites Towson 2-0
First Meeting 1976 Towson 2-1
Last Meeting Aug. 25, 2018
Loyola 3, Towson 1
Streak Loyola +1

Last Time Out vs. Loyola | Aug. 25, 2018 | Baltimore, Md. | Reitz Arena
Towson battled back to force a fourth set with a 26-24 third-set win, but Loyola clinched last season's match with a 25-13 fourth set. Annie Ertz and Emily Jarome led the Tigers with 13 and 10 kills, respectively. Olivia Finckel had four block assists while Olamide Sonuga finished with three assisted stops. Towson hit for .073 in the match.

Scouting the Highlanders
The Highlanders come to SECU Arena with a 1-11 overall record, falling in four sets Wednesday night against the Saints of Siena. Sarah Merritt leads the offensive charge with a 2.29 kills per set average. Madi Busler is close behind with a 2.26 kills per frame average. Busler has taken 326 swings this season and has 10 service aces. Courtney Branch averages a block per set with 43 total stops. Olivia Welsch leads the back row with 3.13 digs per set.

Towson-NJIT History
Saturday afternoon's clash will be the first-ever meeting between the Tigers and the Highlanders on the volleyball court.

Scouting the Wildcats
The University of New Hamsphire enters the weekend with an 8-3 overall record after going 2-1 last weekend at the Ellis Rowland Memorial Tournament, hosted by Colgate University. The Wildcats won 3-1 over Quinnipiac, a team Towson swept to open the season. Hannah Petke ranks first for UNH in total kills with 102, averaging 2.49 per set. Nipping at her heels is Kennedi Smith, who has 96 kills at a 2.34 per-set clip. A trio of Wildcats, Emma Patlovich (13), Smith (12) and Logan Welti (12), have landed double-digit service aces, accounting for 37 of UNH's 56 service aces. Abby Sullivan has 54 total blocks this year, averaging 1.32 per set. Petke averages 1.07 per set and has 44 total. Patlovich leads with 207 assists with Wren Macaulay ranking second with 158. 

Towson-New Hampshire History
The former America East Conference foes will meet once again for the 14th time in series history. Sunday marks the first meeting since the 2011 campaign, a 3-1 Tiger win. Towson has won the last three meetings and has never lost to the Wildcats in a nonconference match up.

With a Win Over Loyola Towson Would...
- Get revenge for a 2018 loss for a second time this season, paired with the sweep over  Princeton two weeks ago.
- Improve the Tigers to 2-0 against Greater Baltimore schools this season, partnered with a sweep over Morgan State in the first weekend.
- Win its 45th match against Loyola all-time in series history.

Welcome to Our House
The friendly confines of SECU Arena have been kind to the Towson Tigers. Since moving into the new building full time in 2013, Towson has racked up an impressive 55-23 overall record at SECU Arena. The Tigers have three seasons with double digit wins, including a 10-3 mark in 2017. With a challenging home schedule last season, the Tigers went 7-8, but finished strong on a three-match win streak at home. To date, the Tigers are 2-1 in SECU Arena this year.

CAA Tournament-Type Preview
This weekend, the Tigers will get a preview at the CAA Tournament, without ever playing a CAA team. The Tigers will play three matches in a three-day span, the same setup needed to win a CAA Championship with a quarterfinal draw. This year's CAA Tournament will be hosted by Hofstra from Friday, Nov. 22 to Sunday, Nov. 24.

Wiers, Grassini Named Towson Invitiational All-Tournament
It was a big weekend for Towson's middle blockers as both freshman Lydia Wiers and senior Silvia Grassini were named to the Towson Invitational All-Tournament team. 

The CAA Defensive Player of the Week, Grassini impressed during the Towson Invitational as the Tigers went 2-1. Grassini was named to the All-Tournament Team for the event after racking up 13 total assists, including seven against Coastal Carolina's high-powered attack. The Italian committed zero blocking errors in 11 sets while adding four digs to her weekend. Grassini was effective offensively as well, knocking down 27 kills, including 10 against Coastal, hitting for .488 over the weekend, including two matches with hitting percentages north of 60 percent.

Wiers continued her impressive play in her first action at SECU Arena, helping lead Towson to a 2-1 weekend during the Towson Invitational. Wiers had 18 total blocks in a new environment, never finishing with less than five stuffs. The Willard, Ohio native hit for .449 over the weekend, taking 49 swings with 28 kills and just six errors. Fighting through size on the blocks, Wiers was stopped just twice all weekend while posting a career-best 14 kills against Coastal in an epic five-setter.

Back-to-Back
This weekend kicks off the second of back-to-back weekends the Tigers will hold it down at SECU Arena. Last week, the Black & Gold hosted the Tiger Invitational, welcoming in Youngstown State (W, 3-0), Coastal Carolina (L, 2-3) and UAlbany (W, 3-0).

Finckel Named Rutgers Invitational All-Tournament
For the weekend, Finckel logged 39 kills at a 3.55 per-set rate. She posted two service aces, while working at the net for nine assisted blocks, getting up at nearly one per set. Finckel added 14 digs over the three matches as well. 

The 6-foot, 2-inch hitter had her top performance against Virginia, helping Towson knock off an ACC opponent for a third-straight season. In that match, she had 13 kills on 28 swings with five errors for a .286 hitting percentage. She finished with five digs and two blocks against the Cavaliers.

She's a Freshman
After a strong performance to open her intercollegiate career, freshman Lydia Wiers was one of three Tigers named to the Morgan State Invitational All-Tournament Team. She was joined by senior Annie Ertz and sophomore Emily Jarome. Additionally, Wiers was tabbed as the Most Valuable Player after going 21 kills at a .529 rate and nine blocks.

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.

Bring Balance to the Force
Despite graduating some record-setting seniors a year ago, the Tigers return in 2019 with a strong balance of experience and youth. The Tigers return five seniors to the court this year, along with seven true freshmen. Included in the fold will be two juniors and seven sophomores, including two transfers. 

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 will square 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 sweepings Tigers of a different color against Princeton (Sept. 7). Towson will face Hofstra twice (Oct. 6, Oct. 27), which uses lions for its mascots. To date, Towson is 2-0 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.