First Serve
The midseason bye week is in the rearview mirror for the Towson volleyball program and it's all CAA action ahead. The Tigers continue a long road swing with a trek to Historic Williamsburg for a pair at William & Mary.

In The National Rankings
Neither team was mentioned on the Week 8 (Oct. 18) AVCA Coaches Poll.

The Back-From-The-Bye Tigers
Towson returns to the court for a back-to-back pair Friday and Saturday. The Tigers enter Kaplan Arena with a 17-3 overall record and a 5-3 mark in league play. Towson had a much-needed bye week after spliting a pair on the road at Charleston, both five set thrillers. Fay Bakodimou leads Towson's high-flying offense with a 2.86 kills per set average and a .241 hitting percentage. Nina Cajic averages 2.63 kills a frame with a blistering .345 hitting percentage on the right side. Emily Jarome (2.55 kills/set, .281) and Lydia Wiers (2.12 kills/set, .378) are also north of two kills per set. Megan Wilson (415 assists) and Kristin Spengler (332 assists) split time at setter, averaging 5.76 and 5.93 helpers per set, respectively. Bakodimou's serving has been on point this fall; the outside hitter has landed 42 aces, the third most total aces in Division I. Towson continues to be one of the best blocking teams in the country, ranking 32nd in blocks per set (2.53) and 20th in total blocks (185.0). Wiers and Nikiya Mitchell lead the efforts in the middle with 80 and 72 blocks, respectively. Wiers averages 1.10 per set with Mitchell close behind at a 1.00 average. Libero Rachel Hess grabs 4.12 digs per set this fall, with a season total of 301, third-most in the CAA while backing a strong blocking team. Towson is fourth in Division I in opponent hitting percentage, holding foes to a combined .125 this year. Jarome has been targeted 400 times on opponent serves, but has passed successfully 93.3 percent of the time.

Scouting the Tribe
William & Mary has struggled this fall, entering the weekend with a 3-10 overall record and an 0-8 mark in the CAA. The Tribe went 3-2 in nonconference this fall but are on an eight-match skid in league play. Three players average better than two kills per set, led by Julia Brown (3.14) and Maddie Meyers (2.83). Lauren Merrill (2.43) checks in third. Brown has been the Tribe's top hitter as well, landing 31.4 percent of her attacks. Anna Porter leads with 14 service aces with Sabrina Malcolm close behind with 10. Malcolm leads at the net with nearly a block per set (0.90) with 35 total blocks while Brown averages 0.82. Porter leads on the backline with 3.43 digs per set this season, coming up with 151 digs.

Towson-William & Mary By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Towson Leads 26-18
at Towson Tied 9-9
at William & Mary Towson 14-3
at Neutral Sites W&M 5-2
at Unknown Sites Tied 1-1
First Meeting 1976 (Towson 2-0)
Last Meeting Nov. 17, 2019 (Towson, Md.) | Towson 3-1
Streak Towson +12

It's Been a Minute.
In a series that dates back to Towson's first year as a program, the 2020/21 year was the first time Towson and William & Mary did not square off since the Tigers joined the CAA in 2002-03. It's been almost 24 months since Towson and William & Mary met in a four-set Towson victory at SECU Arena on Nov. 17, 2019. It's been OVER two years since the Tigers played in Kaplan Arena, a 3-0 sweep on Oct. 11, 2019.

When first serve goes up on Friday night, it will end a 705 day drought between meetings. It will snap a run of 742 days between showdowns in Williamsburg.

Last Time Out vs. William & Mary | Nov. 17, 2019 | Towson, Md. | SECU Arena
It was a Senior Day Showdown at SECU Arena the last time Towson and William & Mary met. After dropping the opening set, Towson bounced back to win the next three and the match 22-25, 25-13, 25-19, 25-18, clinching the 2019 CAA Regular Season Championship in the process. A trio of seniors understood the assignment as Silvia Grassini, Olivia Finckel and Annie Ertz all put down 11 kills. Classmate Marrisa Wonders hoisted 44 assists in the four set victory while logging a 19-dig double-double to lead the match in the latter category. Nikiya Mitchell came on as a reserve starter for an injured Lydia Wiers, tucking away eight blocks with kills, leading to CAA Defensive Player of the Week honors. Kate Dedrick landed 21 kills and was the only Tribe player in double digit kills.

With a Win Over William & Mary on Friday, Towson Would...
- Extend its winning streak over the Tribe to 13 matches.
- Win its seventh-straight match over William & Mary in Williamsburg
- Improve to 27-18 all-time against the Tribe.
- Win the first of four matches this fall in the Commonwealth of Virginia (One more Saturday at William & Mary and two at James Madison in early November).
- Bump its record against magical mascots to 2-1 with split against the Phoenix of Elon.
- Avoid back-to-back losses for the first time since September 2018.

It's The Spider-Man Meme Where They're All Pointing at Each Other
- It's a Black & Gold invasion in Historic Williamsburg this Friday and Saturday.
- Four Towson Tiger teams will be in town for five events at William & Mary.
- Women's volleyball leads off on Friday at 7 p.m. at Kaplan Arena, followed by men's and women's swimming and diving on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Recreation Center.
- Towson football is up next at 3:30 p.m. at Zable Stadium with women's volleyball bookending the weekend with a 7:30 p.m. match back at Kaplan Arena.
- It's roughly a mile to go from Recreation Center to Zable Stadium and back over to Kaplan Arena to catch four Towson teams in action.

Everyone on the Block
- If you're attacking Towson's defense, you're going to have a LOT of hands in your face.
- As of Oct. 20, Towson is ranked fourth in the country in opponent hitting percentage, holding opponents to a combined .125.
- The Tigers rank 32nd in Division I in blocks per set (2.53) and are second in the CAA in that category.
- Towson dropped to 25th in Division I in total blocks after taking a bye week last week. Towson has 185.0 total blocks this fall.
- Towson's set a program record on Sept. 3 against Loyola Maryland, stuffing the Greyhounds 21 times in five sets. Lydia Wiers was accounted for on 11 total blocks in the match, tied for the third-most by a Tiger in program history. She is one of three players in program history to hit 11 total blocks in the 25 point rally scoring era (2008-present), joining Susan Gansor (vs. UNH, 2011) and Shelynne Hoyt (vs. Penn, 2009).

Moving to the Commonwealth
- The Tigers better get comfortable playing on the road in Virginia in the next three weeks.
- Towson heads to Williamsburg, Virginia for a pair this weekend on Friday and Saturday.
- The Tigers head to Harrisonburg, Virginia on Nov. 6 and Nov. 7 for a block against JMU.
- The JMU trip comes after a one-weekend stay at SECU Arena against Delaware following the William & Mary Weekend.

The Ace of Spades (The Ace of Spades)
- Towson served up 27 aces in the opening weekend with another 32 coming in the Towson Invitational, followed by 25 aces at the Tiger Invitational.
- Towson is ranked 15th in the most recent NCAA Extended Stats (Oct. 20), averaging 1.93 aces per set. Fay Bakodimou ranks fourth in Division I with 42 total aces.
- The Tigers are 14th in the country in total aces (141), despite playing just 73 total sets, dropping from third in total aces after a bye week.

What Conference Are We In???
- Through the first three weekends of the season, Towson has played opponents from five different conferences: America East, Horizon, Ivy, MEAC and Patriot League.
- It feels like the Tigers may be an associate member of the America East, MEAC or Patriot League, having played opponents from those leagues twice.
- Towson added Conference USA (FAU) and American Athletic Conference (Temple) to the mix this weekend.
- Towson has more wins in two different conferences this year 3-0 MEAC, 3-0 Patriot) than it did in the spring, playing in (and winning!) two CAA matches in the offset season.

Mr. 400
- During opening weekend, Towson head coach Don Metil picked up the 400th win of his head coaching career, coming in dramatic fashion with a 3-2 come-from-behind win at Navy.
- Entering the spring 2021 season, Metil is 42nd among NCAA coaches with a minimum five years as a Division I head coach.
- Metil is 413-202 all-time (.672) as a head coach.
- Metil's records by school: Notre Dame College: 40-30 | Lees-McRae: 30-9
Coppin State: 15-46 | Maryland Eastern Shore: 145-45 | Towson: 183-72
- Metil is second all-time in wins at Towson University.
- Cathy Cain: 201-143 (1989-98) | Don Metil: 183-72 (2013-Pres.) | Chris Riley: 144-54 (2000-05)

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.
- Towson's 2021 vs. Two-Legged Mascots: 4-1
- Towson's 2021 vs. Four-Legged Mascots: 13-2
- This week's opponent, William & Mary, is represented by the four-legged Griffin (or two legs on William and two legs on Mary).
- In 2019, the Tigers went 17-1 against mascots with four legs (Bobcats, Bears, Tigers, Great Danes, Greyhounds, Wildcats, Dukes (dog), Huskies, Pride (lions), Tribe (griffin), Cougars, and Nittany Lions).
- Two of Towson's 2019 losses came against two-legged foes, the Scarlet Knights and Chanticleers, before falling to the four-legged Nittany Lions.
- Towson went 3-1 in 2020/1 against four-legged mascots, topping Stony Brook (Seawolves), Charleston (Cougars) and Northeastern (Huskies) but falling to Dayton (see last line).
- Towson's opponent in Spring 2021, the Dayton Flyers, are in the four-legged category (Orville and Wilbur Wright). (This is according to an impromptu Twitter poll).

Birds of a Feather
- Bird mascots are very popular, it seems, on the Towson schedule.
- The Tigers will play nine matches this fall against feathered foes.
- Towson had won its last 15 matches against bird-related mascots before dropping the Saturday match against Elon.
- Towson is 6-1 against bird mascots in 2021. The Tigers play six more matches in the regular season against feathered foes.
- The Tigers will not play a single bird opponent on the road during the regular season.

Protect this House
- Since moving into SECU Arena full time in 2013, Towson has racked up an impressive 79-24 overall record at SECU Arena.
- The Tigers have four seasons with double digit wins, including an 11-1 mark in 2021
- The Tigers finished 2018 strong at home with a three-match win streak.
- The Tigers finished 2019 with a 12-1 overall mark at SECU Arena, with an 8-0 mark in the CAA.
- Towson is already 11-1 this fall at SECU Arena with nine sweeps in 12 chances.

In a ______ State of Mind
- Towson has played opponents from all over the eastern seaboard and the eastern portion of the midwest.
- To date, Towson has played at least one match against opponents from eight different states
- Maryland: 4 | New York: 4 | Pennsylvania: 2 | North Carolina: 4 | South Carolina: 2 | Ohio: 1 | New Jersey: 1 | Virginia: 1 | Florida: 1)

When in Colonial Rome...
- Towson has played against programs from seven of the original 13 Colonies.
- Of the 13 Original Colonies, the Tigers have tussled with teams from Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
- Next weekend, Towson brings that total to eight, adding the First State, Delaware.
- The regular season total will reach nine with a visit from Northeastern, representing Massachusetts.
- The only missing colonies are Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hamshire and Georgia.

Tigers in the Community
- 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.