ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- If you're going to hit a milestone win, a five-set thriller is one way to do it in style.

Towson University women's volleyball head coach Don Metil, now in his 20th season as a head coach, collected the 400th win of his career as the Tigers battled back against the United States Naval Academy for a five-set (25-20, 18-25, 23-25, 25-21, 15-6) come-from-behind victory.

The Tigers (4-0) were led by 15 kills from senior outside hitter Emily Jarome, who was named as the Baltimore Invitational All-Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Classmate Fay Bakodimou banged down 13 kills while middle blocker Lydia Wiers hit a team-best .409 with a dozen kills while adding seven total blocks to her line. Towson halted 13 Navy attempts at the net, aided by six assisted stops from Wiers, who was honored as an All-Tournament selection as well. 

Navy (3-1) was paced by 16 kills from Avery Stowell and another 10 from Maggie Bodman. The Mids posted two players with double-digit assists, led by Averi Miller (20) and Celie Feighery (17). 

How it Happened

• The early half of the first set was back-and-forth, featuring five lead changes before Navy led 11-10. Towson ripped off five-straight points to wrest control 15-11 and never looked back before taking a 1-0 lead behind a 25-20 set win.
• The Mids jumped all over Towson early in set two, taking a 4-0 lead. Towson chipped away at the deficit, pulling even at 11 a side.
• Navy broke the deadlock with an 8-1 run to go up 19-12. The Tigers had a hard time connecting points as Navy won the second set 25-18 and tying the action at one set apiece.
• Like the second set, the third frame started off tight with seven ties as the game hit 8-8. The Tigers snapped up a 10-8 advantage behind a pair of kills from Wiers, but the Mids ripped off an 8-2 run for a 16-12 lead. 
• Towson fought back, pulling within one point of the lead, trailing 20-19. Towson trailed 24-23 in the third and had the would-be point scoring as an inadvertent whistle blew, resetting the action. Navy scored the subsequent point and took the set 25-23.
• Down two sets to one, Towson found itself in a 5-3 hole in the fourth set, but battled back to grab an 8-5 lead with a 5-0 run with a Bakodimou kill paired with a pair of aces from the Athens, Greece product. 
• The Tigers kept Navy at bay, never allowing the Mids closer than two points through the middle portion of the set. Towson reached up to a 19-14 lead, but Navy charged back to within one, with Towson leading 22-21.
• After siding out with a Navy service error, Towson forced set five thanks to a Bakodimou kill and an attack error from the Mids.
• Despite the closeness of the match throughout, it was all Towson in the fifth as the Tigers roared out to an 11-3 lead, bolstered by a 6-0 run as Towson led 5-3. The Tigers took four of the final six points to earn their first five-set victory of the young season.

Behind the Numbers

• Jarome was selected as the Baltimore Invitational Most Outstanding Player and earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Wiers, who was the Most Outstanding Player at the 2019 edition of the Tournament, was also named to the All-Tournament Team this weekend.
• Head Coach Don Metil, now in his ninth season at the helm of the program at Towson, collected his 400th career win. His first win came on Aug. 30, 2002 in straight sets over Cairn University while he was the head man at nearby Division III Notre Dame Maryland.
• Metil currently has 170 wins as the head coach at Towson, second all-time behind Mary Cain's 201 victories.
• Towson improved to 24-22 all-time against Navy, picking up a win in the first meeting between the programs since 2013. 
• The Tigers have now won 28 straight regular season matches, stretching back to mid-September 2019.

Up Next for Towson

• From one busy weekend to another, the Tigers open a two-weekend homestand on Friday, Sept. 3 against Stony Brook as part of the Towson Invitational.
• First serve against the Seawolves is set for 10 a.m. at SECU Arena.
• All eight matches of the Towson Invitational will be streamed live on FloVolleyball. Fans can purchase a subscription at the CAA rate through this link.

Tickets can be found by visiting this link. Fans looking for group rates can contact Josh Behringer (jbehringer@towson.edu).