First Serve
It's time for the second season in a calendar year, an unprecedented event for collegiate volleyball. The Tigers look to keep the good times rolling, coming off the program's second-straight CAA Championship in April and a subsequent berth in the NCAA Tournament.

In The National Rankings
None of the teams involved in the Baltimore Invite at Morgan State were mentioned among the AVCA's Top 25, nor were any teams receiving votes in the organization's preseason coaches' poll.

Scouting the Reigning Tigers
A rare thing for any program is losing zero sets played from the previous season. The Tigers are one exception to that this fall: Every single player that logged time in a match during the spring is back this fall. Additionally, the Tigers added three new faces, Tati Armoutsi, Irbe Lazda and Megan Wilson, to the roster for the fall campaign. First Team All-CAA selection Nina Cajic led Towson in the spring with 3.59 kills per set while hitting at a .314 percent rate. All-CAA Preseason selection Emily Jarome is back for her fourth season in the Black & Gold after putting away 3.36 kills per set in the spring with a versatile 2.18 digs per set. Preseason Honorable Mention pick Lydia Wiers batted down 2.68 kills a frame while finishing 1.09 blocks on average. Aayinde Smith led Towson with 1.10 blocks a set in her true freshman season. Rachel Hess led the Tigers in her first season with the program with a 4.43 digs per set average, followed by veteran Asia Goins, who was second with a 3.25 per set average. Kristin Spengler ran Towson's offense last spring, hoisting 245 assists at a 11.14 per set rate. The current senior paced the Tigers with seven service aces followed by Cajic and Fay Bakodimou, who had six aces apiece. As a team, the Tigers averaged 2.45 blocks per set, third-best in the CAA while holding foes to a .167 hitting percentage.

Towson-Morgan State By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Towson Leads 33-2
at Towson Towson 15-1
at Morgan State Towson 10-1
at Neutral Sites Towson 6-0
at Unknown Sites Towson 2-0
First Meeting 1976 (Towson 2-0)
Last Meeting Aug. 31, 2019
Towson 3, Morgan State 0
Streak Towson +12

Towson-Cleveland State By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Towson Leads 4-3
at Towson n/a
at Cleveland State Towson 1-0
at Neutral Sites Tied 3-3
at Unknown Sites n/a
First Meeting 1983 (Cleveland State 2-0)
Last Meeting Sept. 5, 2008
Towson 3, Cleveland State 2
Streak Towson +2

Towson-Binghamton By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Towson Leads 3-1
at Towson n/a
at Binghamton Binghamton 1-0
at Neutral Sites Towson 3-0
at Unknown Sites n/a
First Meeting Sept. 27, 2007 (Towson 3-0)
Last Meeting Sept. 13, 2015
Towson 3, Binghamton 0
Streak Towson +2

Towson-Navy By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Towson leads 23-22
at Towson Towson 7-2
at Navy Towson 10-6
at Neutral Sites Navy 11-5
at Unknown Sites Navy 3-0
First Meeting 1977 (Navy 2-0)
Last Meeting Nov. 5, 2013
Towson 3, Navy 0
Streak Towson +4

How to Say It: TOWSON
TOWSON is pronounced TOW like towel + Son.

IT IS NOT: TOE-son, Townson, Towsond, Townsend (except freshman Ally Townsend), Townsen, Towzen. One N, no Z.

We are Towson University, no longer Towson State University (and haven't been since
July 1, 1997).

Our mascot is Doc The Tiger, named after Donald "Doc" Minnegan, long-time soccer coach and athletics department administrator. Towson became the "Tigers" in 1962 after John Schuerholz (yes, the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame General Manager) pushed for the name change from the "Towson College Knights".

Last Time Out: vs. Dayton | April 14, 2021 | Omaha, Nebraska | CHI Health Center
Battling through the most unique season in program history, the back-to-back CAA Champion Tigers headed to Omaha, Nebraska for the 2021 NCAA Tournament, clashing with the University of Dayton in the first round. The Tigers dropped a 3-0 decision, Towson's lone loss of the 2020(read: Spring 2021) season. Emily Jarome led Towson with seven kills while Lydia Wiers and Nina Cajic batted down a half-dozen each. Nikiya Mitchell logged two block assists while Fay Bakodimou backed Towson with seven digs alongside five kills. Kristin Spengler pushed up 23 assists. Dayton was led at the net by Lexie Almodovar's nine kills as Alayna Yates finished with six total blocks. Dayton finished the first round with 10 blocks, holding Towson to a .024 hitting percentage.

With a Win on Friday, Towson Would...
- Win its season opener for a third-straight season.
- Win its 25th straight regular season match, dating back to Sept. 14, 2019 in a sweep of UAlbany.
- Collect its 13th straight true road victory, dating back to Sept. 20, 2019 with a sweep at Loyola Maryland.
- Win its 13th straight match against Morgan State; Towson has not dropped a match to the Bears this century.

All Set
- Playing through a unique season, the Tigers return every single player who logged time in a set last spring.
- The Tigers' experience from last year is a combined 168 sets played, including Lydia Wiers, Nina Cajic, Fay Bakodimou, Kristin Spengler and Emily Jarome, who all played in each of the 22 total sets.
- The 17 current members of the program have played in 1,369 total sets across their respective careers.

Back 2 Back with Home Cookin'
- Towson 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.

FALLing For You
- After missing Fall 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Tigers return to the traditional fall season for 2021.
- Towson played its 2020 season during Spring 2021.
- When Towson takes the court Friday afternoon at Hill Field House, it will be 629 days since the Tigers played a match during the traditional fall season.
Towson's last fall-season match was the second round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament at No. 11 Penn State on Dec. 7, 2019.

Still the Reigning Champs
- The Tigers remain as the reigning champions of the league, winning their second-straight CAA crown in Spring 2021 for the 2020 season.
- 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 six 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 23 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: 62-20 (.756)

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 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 went 3-0 last spring against two-legged mascots, besting Temple (Owls) and Delaware (Fightin' Blue Hens)
- Towson's last foe, the Dayton 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 14, 2021)
- Towson head coach Don Metil is nearing the 400-win mark for his career.
- Now in his 20th 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 396-199 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: 166-69
- Metil is second all-time in wins at Towson University.
- Cathy Cain: 201-143 (1989-98) | Don Metil: 166-69 (2013-Pres.) | Chris Riley: 144-54 (2000-05)

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.
- 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).

Protect this House
- Since moving into SECU Arena full time in 2013, Towson has racked up an impressive 68-23 overall record at SECU Arena.
- The Tigers have three seasons with double digit wins, including a 10-3 mark in 2017.
- 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 1-0 at SECU Arena this spring with four more home matches pending.
- Towson has won 14 straight at home since early in 2019.

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.