First Serve
Towson returns to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in as many seasons, picking up the program's second-straight automatic qualifying bid to the dance after collecting its second CAA Championship in as many years.

In The National Rankings
Neither team is mentioned in this week's poll. Towson is ranked second in the most recent NCAA RPI standings, with the caveat that it ranks teams currently playing.

Scouting the Still Dancing Tigers
Despite playing just 19 sets this spring, the Tigers are back in the NCAA Tournament for a second straight season by right of its most recent CAA Championship. Towson swept through the league tournament with straight-set wins over Charleston and Northeastern. Towson's pick-your-poison offense is led by freshman Nina Cajic, who has 73 kills at a 3.84 per set rate. The CAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player terminates attacks at a .358 percent rate. Junior Emily Jarome has 67 kills on her ledger with a 3.53 per set average with sophomore Lydia Wiers in at 53 kills and 2.79 per set. Wiers is one of the top hitters in the country, ranking 12th at .441; she has two matches this season better than .600 percent as well. Redshirt sophomore Fay Bakodimou adds more hitting depth with 46 kills at a 2.42 set rate. Running all the offense is junior All-Tournament selection Kristin Spengler, who averages 11.68 assists per set, posting 222 helpers throughout the spring. Spengler ranks sixth in Division I with her per-set average. Defensively, Towson is a force at the net, ranking 19th nationally with 2.63 blocks per set. Rookie Aayinde Smith leads the charge with 1.29 per set, with Wiers right behind her at 1.21. Cajic is a shade under one block per set as well. Libero Rachel Hess, who started the CAA Tournament matches, averages 4.50 digs per set. Sophomore Asia Goins is second with a 3.69 average as well.

Scouting the Flyers
A perennial in the NCAA Tournament, Dayton captured its 14th Atlantic 10 title with a sweep over Towson's former CAA foe, VCU. The Flyers bring a 13-1 record to Omaha, with the lone blemish a five-set loss at Saint Louis in the season opener. Jamie Peterson leads Dayton's offense with a 4.33 kills per set average, ranking second in the Atlantic 10. Alayna Yates has the A-10's best hitting percentage at .376, helping Dayton to a league-best .292 percentage. Dayton has the A-10's best opponent hitting percentage as well, limiting league foes to just .127, which ranks 11th nationally.

Towson-Dayton History
It's a brief history between the Tigers and the Flyers; Towson and Dayton have met just three times with the most recent clash coming a dozen years ago. Towson and Dayton have never met on a neutral court; the Flyers are 3-0 all time with a 2-0 mark in Dayton and a 1-0 record in Towson.

Towson-Dayton By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Dayton Leads 3-0
at Towson Dayton 1-0
at Dayton Dayton 2-0
at Neutral Sites n/a
at Unknown Sites n/a
First Meeting Aug. 30, 2003 (Dayton 3-2)
Last Meeting Sept. 6, 2008
Dayton 3, Towson 1
Streak Towson -3

Welcome to the Husker State
Wednesday's match will be the Tigers' first in the state of Nebraska under the guidance of head coach Don Metil. The closes the Tigers have played to Omaha was a 2015 tournament at North Dakota State University in Fargo, some 420 miles due north of Omaha.

Last Time Out vs. Dayton | Sept. 6, 2008 | Dayton, Ohio | Frericks Center
In a tight nonconference battle in central Ohio, Towson dropped a 3-1 decision against host Dayton (22-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-17). Alysha Fanning paced Towson with a dozen kills as Maddie Haseltine chipped in 11. Katee Luecke ran the offense, putting up 40 assists. Ally Perko and Missy Rohrbaugh notched 15 digs apiece. The Tigers finished with nine total blocks, with Fanning in on six of those stops. Becky Novacek led the Flyers and the match with 14 kills. Bethany Akerhielm and Lindsay Fletmier posted 10 kills apiece. Dayton finished with 77 digs, nearly half of which came from Nicole Bateman (35).

With a Win on Wednesday, Towson Would...
- Advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and face No. 6 Washington.
- Win back-to-back NCAA Tournament First Round matches for the first time in program history.
- Be the first CAA to reach the NCAA Second Round in back-to-back seasons in the Rally Era. The last team to manage that was George Mason during the 1994 and 1995 seasons.
- Collect its first-ever win over Dayton, halting a three-match slide against the Flyers.
- Improve to 7-0 this season, the best start to a season since opening 2017 with a 16-0 mark.
- Be Towson's first-ever win inside the Cornhusker State.
- See the Tigers win their first match against an Atlantic 10 opponent since Sept. 14, 2018, a 3-1 win over La Salle during the Tiger Invitational at SECU Arena.
- Run Towson's winning streak over Atlantic 10 opponents to nine in a row.

Back 2 Back with Home Cookin'
- Towson has won its second-straight CAA Women's Volleyball Championship, sweeping both Charleston (semifinals) and Northeastern (finals).
- Towson is the first CAA team to repeat as champions since James Madison won titles in 2016-17.
- Since Towson joined the league in 2002, there have now been five repeat champions
• George Mason: 2002, 2003 | Delaware: 2007, 2008 | Delaware: 2010, 2011
• James Madison: 2016, 2017 | Towson: 2019, 2020
- The Tigers were the first team to win the CAA Tournament on home court since JMU in 2017.
• Other Teams to Win at Home since 2002: Towson (2004), Hofstra (2006), Delaware (2007, 2010, 2011), College of Charleston (2013), James Madison (2017).
- The 2020(21?) title was the second time Towson won it all on home court and first in SECU Arena
• The 2004 team won the title in the Towson Center.

The Fewer the Better?
- Towson is one of two teams left standing in the field of 48 to play fewer than 10 matches during the 2020-21 academic year.
- The Tigers (6-0) are joined by Patriot League champion Army West Point (8-0) in that category.
- The average number of matches played by teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament this year is 17.5.
- Texas State is the only team to play more than 30 matches, getting in the full compliment of 38 matches.
- Towson is one of six programs in the 48 team field with an unblemished record.

Back to It
- Opening the CAA Tournament, the Tigers are returned to the court for the first time since a 3-0 sweep over Delaware at SECU Arena on March 7.
- That match ended a 26-day playing drought for the Tigers.
- Towson's matches at Hofstra were cancelled following positive tests within the Pride program.
- The remainder of Towson's regular season was halted following positive tests in the Tiger program.

Still the Reigning Champs
- Despite almost 500 days between CAA Championship matches, the Tigers are still the reigning champions of the league, winning their second-straight CAA crown.
- The Tigers hoisted the league trophy after a perfect 4-0 regular season in the spring of 2021, which includes a 2-0 mark in league play. Towson put together a 16-0 CAA campaign in 2019, paired with 3-1 win over Elon and a sweep of James Madison in the Tournament.
- There are 10 Tigers currently on the roster that were members of the historic back-to-back championship teams: Katie McCracken, Ally Townsend, Lydia Wiers, Danielle Gravina, Asia Goins, Fay Bakodimou, Kristin Spengler, Emily Jarome, Morgan Wilson, and Nikiya Mitchell.
- Towson is the first team to repeat as CAA Champions since JMU won back-to-back titles in 2016 and 2017.

League of Their Own
Over the last five seasons, Towson has been one of the top teams in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). Since the 2015 campaign, the Tigers have racked a 62-20 record in league play, including a record-setting 16-0 mark in 2019 and a 2-0 record in 2020/1. Towson has not dropped a regular season match to a CAA opponent since Oct. 27, 2018 at Charleston in a five set thriller. The Tigers have won their last 25 CAA matches, reaching back to a sweep of Delaware at home on March 7.
2021: 2-0 | 2019: 16-0 | 2018: 10-6 | 2017: 12-4 | 2016: 10-6 | 2015: 12-4 | Total: 60-20 (.750)

Welcome to Our House
- Towson hosted the 2021 Spring CAA Championship on Friday, April 2 (Semifinals) and Saturday, April 3 (Championship).
- The top two teams from the North Division (#1 Towson, #2 Northeastern, Delaware, Hofstra) and the top two teams from the South Division (#1 James Madison, #2 Charleston, William & Mary, Elon, UNCW) competed at SECU Arena for the league's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament.
- The Tigers served as 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 during the 2019 campaign with wins over Pirates, Cavaliers, Penguins, Highlanders, Blue Hens, Phoenix, Seahawks and Eagles.
- 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 is 3-0 this season against four-legged mascots, topping Stony Brook (Seawolves), Charleston (Cougars) and Northeastern (Huskies)
- Towson is 3-0 this season against two-legged mascots, besting Temple (Owls) and Delaware (Fightin' Blue Hens)
- This week's foe, the Flyers, are in the four-legged category (Orville and Wilbur Wright). (This is according to an impromptu Twitter poll).

Climbing the Charts (As of April 3)
- Towson head coach Don Metil is nearing the 400-win mark for his career.
- Now in his 19th season as an NCAA volleyball head coach, Metil has amassed 396 wins.
- Entering the spring 2021 season, Metil is 42nd among NCAA coaches with a minimum five years as a Division I head coach.
- Metil is 396-198 all-time (.666) 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: 166-68
- Metil is second all-time in wins at Towson University.
- Cathy Cain: 201-143 (1989-98) | Don Metil: 166-68 (2013-Pres.) | Chris Riley: 144-54 (2000-05)

Aces
- Over the last several years, Towson has been known for its serving prowess.
- This spring, the Tigers have dropped in 22 service aces across four matches, including a season-high eight at Temple.
- The last time Towson was held without at least one ace was Oct. 14, 2018 at Charleston
- Towson has at least one ace in its last 49 matches.

Waffle House Hashbrowns
- Like an order of hashbrowns at a Waffle House, Towson's opponents have been smothered and covered over the last three seasons.
- Towson limited Stony Brook to a .136 hitting percentage in the season opener.
- In the CAA opener, Towson held Delaware to just a .054 hitting percentage, the lowest since limiting NJIT to .044 on Sept. 21, 2019.
- During the CAA Tournament, Towson held both Charleston and Northeastern to a combined
- In 2021, Towson has held opponents at or below a .150 hitting percentage two times.
- During the 2018 campaign, the Tigers kept opponents at or below .150 on 13 occasions.
- In 2017, Towson hit that mark 14 times.
- Assistant coach Terry Hutchinson has been key to the blocking game in his three-plus seasons with the Tigers.
- Towson's 2018 (284.5) and 2019 (289.5) efforts in blocking rank at the top of the program's record books in the 25-point rally scoring era (since 2008)

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
- 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.