First Serve
After nearly a month, the Towson University women's volleyball team returns to SECU Arena for a pair of matches against longtime rival Delaware on Friday and Sunday. It will be the third and fourth time in the calendar year Towson and the Blue Hens square off, dating back to early March 2021.

In The National Rankings
Neither team was mentioned on the Week 9 (Oct. 25) AVCA Coaches Poll.

The Finally Back Home Tigers
It's been a long road swing for the Tigers, who return to SECU Arena with a 3-1 mark in the last four road matches, including two wins at William & Mary this weekend. Towson continues to have a multifaceted offense, led by Fay Bakodimou's 2.88 kills per set. Emily Jarome is second with a 2.64 average as Nina Cajic sits third at 2.63. Lydia Wiers puts away 2.03 kills per set on average. Towson is one of the top serving teams in the country, paced again by Bakodimou as the senior has scored 46 aces this year, averaging 0.60 per set. Rachel Hess (22) and Jarome (20) have put up at least 20 as well. On defense, the Tigers are a nightmare for opponents as Towson averages 2.60 blocks per set, led by dual threat middles Nikiya Mitchell (1.18/set) and Wiers (1.10/set). Hess, who was named CAA Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, grabs 4.24 digs per set to back up the stout block, coming up with 339 total digs this fall. Jarome ranks second on the team with 2.51 digs per set while Kristin Spengler is third at 2.35 per frame, adding a double-double in Friday night's match at William & Mary. Towson boasts one of the best defenses in Division I, holding opponents to just .124 hitting, aided by a .059 hitting percentage Friday night by William & Mary. Towson is still ranked fourth in the country in opponent hitting percentage, per NCAA.com Extended Stats summary.

Scouting the Blue Hens
Delaware makes the quick drive down Interstate 95 for a pair, carrying an 11-10 overall record and a 6-6 mark in the CAA after topping Charleston twice in four sets last weekend. CAA Co-Offensive Player of the Week Lani Mason averages 3.45 kills per set this fall, hitting a .215 percent clip. Savannah Seemans is second with 2.92 kills per set, followed by Lauryn Richardson at 2.03 per set. Seemans is the top server for Delaware, putting down 40 total aces this year. Delaware's offense runs through Ezgi Basaranlar, who averages 9.85 assists per set. Defensively, the Blue Hens average a shade over two blocks per set (2.03), led by Kirah Johnson at 1.04 per frame. Libero Katie Turner tracks down digs at a 3.74 per set rate, while Mason averages 2.38 and Seemans with 2.27.

Towson-Delaware By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Towson Leads 45-39
at Towson Tied 17-17
at Delaware Towson 20-12
at Neutral Sites Towson 8-6
at Unknown Sites Delaware 4-0
First Meeting 1976 (UD 2-0)
Last Meeting March 7, 2021 (Towson, Md.)
Towson 3-0
Streak Towson +8

It Has Not Been a Minute.
This weekend's matches mark the third and fourth time Towson and Delaware will square off in the 2021 calendar year. The Tigers faced the Blue Hens on March 5 and March 7 this year, the only two CAA matches Towson played in the spring, amid various COVID-19 shutdowns.

This will be the first time since 2008 that the Tigers and Blue Hens meet more than twice in the same season. Towson and Delaware played three times that year, twice in the regular season and once in the CAA Tournament.

The programs have met four times in one calendar year once: the 1985 campaign. The teams split the four matches that year.

Last Time Out vs. Delaware | March 7, 2021 | Towson, Md. | SECU Arena
In a match located in Bizarro World, the Tigers and Blue Hens met last spring in an empty SECU Arena, both teams sporting masks amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Towson picked up its second sweep (25-23, 25-18, 25-20) in three days over Delaware in what proved to be Towson's final regular season match. Emily Jarome and Nina Cajic led the Tigers with 11 kills apiece, while Fay Bakodimou and Lydia Wiers pitched in nine and eight kills, respectively.  Cajic added a double-double with a team-best 12 digs. Kristin Spengler put up 36 assists. Delaware had nine kills from Michaela Putnicki and Lily Rogers to lead Delaware's offense. The latter finished second for Delaware with 16 assists, just two back from Ezgi Basaranlar's 18. Putnicki had a team-best 11 digs.

With a Win Over Delaware on Friday, Towson Would...
- Extend its winning streak over the Blue Hens to nine matches.
- Win its fifth-straight match over Delaware at SECU Arena.
- Improve to 46-39 all-time against Delaware.
- Win its 12th home match of the season, the second-straight full season Towson would log a dozen wins at home.

Loves Playing Against Delaware
- Senior outside hitter Emily Jarome hails from Wilmington, Delaware, located just north of Newark, Delaware, home of the University of Delaware.
- The former Gatorade Player of the Year in the state has competed six times against the Blue Hens in her career.
- Over that span, she has logged 58 kills (3.22 kills per set) along with 39 digs, including 16 in the second meeting in 2018.

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. 24, Towson is ranked fourth in the country in opponent hitting percentage, holding opponents to a combined .124.
- The Tigers rank 22nd in Division I in blocks per set (2.61) and are first in the CAA in that category.
- Towson just up to 16th in Team Total Blocks in Division I with 208.5 this year, thanks to a HUGE day at the net on Friday at William & Mary with another 17.5 blocks, including 11 from Nikiya Mitchell.
- 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.
Mitchell and Wiers are two of four 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 had a successful trip to Williamsburg, Virginia for a pair last weekend.
- 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 this weekend following the William & Mary trip.

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 eighth in the most recent NCAA Extended Stats (Oct. 24), averaging 2.00 aces per set. Fay Bakodimou ranks third in Division I with 46 total aces.
- The Tigers are sixth in the country in total aces (160), despite playing just 80 total sets, dropping from third in total aces after a bye week.

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 415-202 all-time (.673) 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: 185-72 (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: 15-2
- This week's opponent, Delaware, is represented by the two-legged Blue Hen.
- 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 will not play a single bird opponent on the road during the regular season.

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 | Virginia: 2 | Ohio: 1 | New Jersey: 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.
- This 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.