First Serve
By the time first goes up Saturday morning, it will be 442 days between competitive points for the Towson University women's volleyball team. The Tigers were last seen in a four-set battle in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament at Penn State's Rec Hall.
In The National Rankings
Neither team is mentioned in this week's poll.
Scouting the Tigers
Save a few returners, Saturday's lineup for the Towson women's volleyball program will look vastly different than it did over a year ago. Back are CAA Rookie of the Year Lydia Wiers and All-CAA pick Emily Jarome, poised to lead a young offense. Joining Wiers in the middle will be redshirt junior Nikiya Mitchell and true freshman Aayinde Smith. On the outside with Jarome, hitters Fay Bakodimou, Marija Tomasevic, Morgan Wilson, Nina Cajic with Sara Wasiakowska on the opposite side. Towson's deepest unit, the defensive specialists, return Asia Goins and Ally Townsend, who will be joined by transfers Rachel Hess (La Salle), Angie Spirito (Binghamton and Katie McLellan (Providence). Setting duties will fall to a the trio of Katie McCracken, a sophomore, junior Kristin Spengler, and junior transfer Sarah Couch.
Head coach Don Metil is back for his eighth season at the helm of the program. The 2019 CAA Coach of the Year and the AVCA East Region Coach of the Year led the Tigers to the first-ever 16-0 season in CAA history en route to the CAA Championship. He is joined by assistant coach Terry Hutchinson on the sidelines for the spring of 2021. Hutchinson is in his fourth season with the program. Assistant coach Megan Shifflett Bachmann will be on maternity leave this spring.
Scouting the Seawolves
Fresh into the 2021 season, Stony Brook has a five-setter under its belt already, falling to rival St. John's (25-21, 28-30, 25-22, 15-25, 11-15) in its first match. Lauren Schmitz posted a double-double with 14 kills and 10 digs while Leoni Kunz tagged the Red Storm for another 14 kills. Julia Kim ran the offense with 48 assists while Kiani Kerstetter covered the backline with 48 digs. Stony Brook hit for .199 in the match, victim to 13 St. John's blocks. The Seawolves notched 10 blocks as well, holding the Red Storm to a .287 hitting percentage. Saturday's match is Stony Brook's penultimate nonconference event; the Seawolves travel to Hofstra next weekend for a Long Island clash.
Towson-Stony Brook History
A Venn diagram of time Towson and Stony Brook spent together in the America East would be but a sliver. The two schools were league foes for one campaign, 2001-02, before Towson joined the Colonial Athletic Assocation (CAA) for the 2002-03 academic year. Towson leads the all-time series 5-0, going 2-0 at home, 1-0 at Stony Brook with two neutral wins as well. The Tigers and Seawolves clash for the first time since a 3-1 (28-26, 22-25, 25-19, 25-16) win for the Tigers in Charlottesville, Virginia. Saturday will be Towson's first trip to Stony Brook since a Nov. 10, 2001 sweep.
Towson-Stony Brook By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Towson 5-0
at Towson Towson 2-0
at Stony Brook Towson 1-0
at Neutral Sites Towson 2-0
at Unknown Sites n/a
First Meeting Oct. 6, 2001 (Towson 3, SBU 1)
Last Meeting Sept. 18, 2010
Towson 3, Stony Brook 1
Streak Towson +1
Last Time Out vs. Stony Brook | Sept. 18, 2010 | Charlottesville, Va. | Bender Arena
Towson's Britney Loomis posted a double-double over Stony Brook as the Tigers picked up a 3-1 (28-26, 22-25, 25-19, 25-16) win over the Seawolves at the Cavalier Classic/American University Tournament. Loomis dropped a 12-kill, 11-dig double, with Susan Gansor going for four kills and three blocks. Ashley Headen led Stony Brook with 14 kills while Hailee Herc added 19 digs.
With a Win on Saturday, Towson Would...
- Extend its regular season winning streak to 21-straight matches, dating back to Sept. 13, 2019.
- Be Towson's 12th-straight win over a member of the America East Conference.
- Extend Towson's winning streak over the Seawolves to six straight dating back to the 2001 season.
- Be the Tigers' sixth-straight win on Long Island, dating back to an Oct. 27, 2017 sweep at Hofstra.
It's Been a WHILE
- Towson's last match against outside competition came on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, a 3-1 defeat at Penn State.
- The 2020 fall campaign was pushed to this spring amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic.
- When first serve goes up Saturday morning, it will be 440 days, 14 hours and 25 minutes between competitive whistles for the Tigers.
Strong Island
- The Tigers are quickly becoming fans of Long Island.
- The last time Towson played on The Island, the Tigers claimed the 2019 CAA Championship, hosted at Hofstra University.
- Towson is riding a five-match winning streak on Long Island.
- The Tigers will play three matches this season on The Island, including Saturday's season opener at Stony Brook, followed by a pair at Hofstra on March 12 & 13.
Welcome, Welcome
- Plenty of new faces on the roster for Towson this spring, including a number of transfers and freshmen joining the program.
- Transfers include Katie McLellan (Providence), Rachel Hess (La Salle) and Angie Spirito (Binghamton).
- Newcomers are Nina Cajic, Aayinde Smith and Sara Wasiakowska.
Welcome to Our House
- Towson will host the 2021 Spring CAA Championship on Friday, April 2 (Semifinals) and Saturday, April 3 (Championship).
- The top two teams from the North Division (Towson, Delaware, Hofstra, Northeastern) and the top two teams from the South Division (James Madison, William & Mary, Elon, College of Charleston, UNCW) will duke it out at SECU Arena for the league's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament.
- The Tigers are hosts by right of winning the 2019 CAA Regular Season Championship, paired with the tournament title.
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. 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). Towson has fared well against two-legged mascots, going 12-2 to date with wins over Pirates, Cavaliers, Penguins, Highlanders, Blue Hens, Phoenix, Seahawks and Eagles. Two of Towson's losses came against two-legged foes, the Scarlet Knights and Chanticleers, before falling to the four-legged Nittany Lions.
Protect this 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 65-23 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. The Tigers finished this year with a 12-1 overall mark at SECU Arena, including an 8-0 mark in CAA action.
Wins on Wins on Wins on Wins
Over the last five seasons, the Tigers have been a tough out for opponents. Between 2015 and 2019, the Tigers have racked up a 123-39 overall record, which ranks 20th among NCAA Division I teams in terms of total wins in that span. With a winning percentage of .759 over the last five years, Towson ranks 22nd among fellow Division I teams in terms of winning percentage.
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.
