First Serve
After nearly two years, the heavyweights of the CAA reignite a rivalry in Harrisonburg, Virginia as Towson and James Madison square off for the first time since the 2019 CAA Championship match.

In The National Rankings
Neither team was mentioned on the Week 10 (Nov. 1) AVCA Coaches Poll.

The Penultimate Road Trip Tigers
Towson makes its final road trip of the regular season this weekend with a pair of matches in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Tied for first in the CAA at 9-3, Towson is fresh off two wins over another rival, Delaware, in four and five sets on Friday and Sunday, respectively. Towson's potent and high-flying offense is led by Fay Bakodimou, who averages 2.84 kills per set this year, followed closely by Emily Jarome (2.72). Nina Cajic returned for the Tigers in the third set on Sunday, and ranks third for Towson with 2.58 kills per set. Lydia Wiers puts down 2.00 kills per set on average. Wiers leads Towson's with a .343 hitting percentage and ranks 46th nationally in the category. One of the top serving teams in the country, Towson has landed 177 service aces this fall, averaging just shy of two per set. Bakodimou leads the way with 49, dropping in at least one ace in each of the last nine matches. Jarome (25), Rachel Hess (24), Kristin Spengler (22) and Lydia Wiers (20) are all north of the 20 ace bench mark. Megan Wilson (483 assists) and Kristin Spengler (418) run the offense as a two-setter duo. The latter averages 5.81 assists per set while the former posts 5.49 a frame. A top defense in Division I, Towson holds opponents to just .126 hitting this season, thanks to 97 blocks from Lydia Wiers (1.09/set) and 94 blocks from Nikiya Mitchell (1.16/set). The pair have just five blocking errors between them. Backing the block, Hess snares 4.24 digs per set and has 377 total digs this year. Jarome is second with a 2.55 digs per set rate while Spengler grabs 2.31 a frame.

Scouting the Dukes
Also sitting atop the CAA standings, James Madison comes into the weekend with a 15-5 overall mark and a 9-3 record in the league. The Dukes are coming off a pair of sweeps against Northeastern at home on Saturday and Sunday. JMU's offense runs through Miëtte Veldman, who averages 4.00 kills per set, well over a kill per set more than second place, Sophia Davis (2.87). Veldman has taken 623 swings this year, hitting at a .249 rate. Caroline Dozier is the primary setter, putting up 672 assists at a 9.60 per set rate. Savannah Marshall (22) and Madilyn O'Toole (20) are the only Dukes with at least 20 aces this year. Davis is the top blocker for James Madison, putting down 1.23 per set. Annie Smith is second with a 0.98 blocks per set average. Marshall leads the back row with 3.77 digs per set this fall, with Veldman in second at 2.28 per frame.

Towson-James Madison By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Towson Leads 30-29
at Towson Towson 14-6
at James Madison JMU 16-9
at Neutral Sites JMU 6-5
at Unknown Sites Towson 2-1
First Meeting 1976 (Towson 2-0)
Last Meeting Nov. 24, 2019 (Hempstead, N.Y.)
Towson 3-0
Streak Towson +4

It Has Been a Minute.
Long-time foes renew the rivalry, but it's the first time the teams meet since Nov. 24, 2019 in the CAA Championship match.

Barring the odd Spring 2021 season, Towson and James Madison have met every year since Towson joined the CAA for the 2002-03 campaign, but the series dates back to Towson's first varsity campaign in 1976.

Saturday's showdown will be the first meeting in Harrisonburg since a 3-1 Tiger victory on Sept. 29, 2019, a span of 769 days. It will be 713 days between meetings for these programs.

Last Time Out vs. James Madison | Nov. 24, 2019 | Hempstead, N.Y. | David S. Mack Physical Education Center
It's been awhile since Towson and JMU have met. Seven-hundred and thirteen days, to be exact. The last meeting came in Hempstead, New York as the top-seeded Tigers swept James Madison (25-23, 25-17, 25-18), with Emily Jarome getting the championship-clinching kill. Olivia Finckel led the match with 14 kills while Jarome knocked down a dozen. Marrisa Wonders put away 35 assists en route to MOP honors while adding 13 digs for another double-double. Towson's servers feasted for eight aces, including three from middle blocker Silvia Grassini. JMU was paced by 11 kills each from Briley Brind'Amour and M'Kaela White.

With a Win Over James Madison on Saturday, Towson Would...
- Extend its winning streak over the Dukes to five matches.
- Win back-to-back matches in Harrisonburg for the first time since Nov. 12, 2011 and Oct. 14, 2012.
- Improve to 31-29 all-time all-time against James Madison.
- Win its seventh road match of the season, the second-straight full season with at least seven road wins.
- Win its third-straight true road match of the season. The Tigers have not won three straight on the road in Fall 2021. Towson has won four of its last five roaders, falling only in a would-be reverse sweep at Charleston on Oct. 10.

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 eight times against the Blue Hens in her career, going 8-0 in those matches.
- Over that span, she has logged 89 kills (3.30 kills per set).
- Jarome now has two career double-doubles against the Blue Hens, posting the first two of her career this past weekend with 15 and 16 kills on Friday and Sunday, respectively, with 11 and 15 digs as well.
Jarome hits for .237 in her career, putting in a huge bump this past weekend with a .324 average in nine sets.

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. 31, Towson is ranked fourth in the country in opponent hitting percentage, holding opponents to a combined .126.
- The Tigers rank 26th in Division I in blocks per set (2.2.59) and are first in the CAA in that category.
- Towson is up to 10th in Team Total Blocks in Division I with 230.5 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).
- As of October 31, the Tigers' Fall 2021 total of 230.5 blocks ranks 10th all-time for a single season in program history.

Moving to the Commonwealth
- The Tigers better get comfortable playing on the road in Virginia in the next three weeks.
- Towson had a successful 2-0 trip to Williamsburg, Virginia for a pair on Oct. 22 and Oct. 23.
- 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. 31), averaging 1.99 aces per set. Fay Bakodimou ranks third in Division I with 49 total aces.
- The Tigers are sixth in the country in total aces (177).

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 417-202 all-time (.674) 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: 187-72
- Metil is second all-time in wins at Towson University.
- Cathy Cain: 201-143 (1989-98) | Don Metil: 187-72 (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: 6-1
- Towson's 2021 vs. Four-Legged Mascots: 15-2
- This week's opponent, James Madison, is represented by the four-legged Duke (a bulldog).
- 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 played nine matches this regular season against feathered foes.
- Towson had won its last 15 matches against bird-related mascots before dropping the Saturday match against Elon.
- Towson is 8-1 against bird mascots in 2021.
- The Tigers did not play a single bird opponent on the road during the regular season.
- As of October 31, the only bird mascot in the league to clinch a spot in the CAA Tournament is Elon. Delaware is currently in seventh with UNCW in eighth at 2-10.

Protect this House
- Since moving into SECU Arena full time in 2013, Towson has racked up an impressive 81-24 overall record at SECU Arena.
- The Tigers have four seasons with double digit wins, including an 13-1 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 13-1 this fall at SECU Arena with nine sweeps in 14 chances.
- Towson's single-season wins record at SECU Arena was a 14-1 campaign in 2014. Towson has a chance to tie and break that mark in the regular season finale block against Northeastern.

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 | Delaware: 2 | 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.
- Last weekend, Towson brought 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.