First Serve
The nonconference schedule is in the rearview mirror and it's all CAA for the Towson University women's volleyball team from now until December. Towson opens up league play at Hofstra, taking on the Pride for the first time in nearly two years.

In The National Rankings
Neither team was mentioned on the Week 3 (Sept. 13) AVCA Coaches Poll.

"We're Allowed to Leave Maryland?" Tigers
This weekend will be the first true road trip for the Tigers this season as Towson makes its way to Hempstead, New York. The Tigers have two true road games under their belts, but those were day trips to Morgan State (Baltimore) and Navy (Annapolis). Towson hasn't had an overnight trip in the regular season since March 12 & 13, a drive to Hofstra before those matches were postponed and ultimately cancelled. Towson's high-powered and versatile offense is led by Tiger Invitational MOP Fay Bakodimou, who averages 3.00 kills per set this fall, hitting at a .243 rate. Nina Cajic is second with a 2.70 average (.391) followed by Emily Jarome (2.62, .300), Lydia Wiers (2.35, .395) and Morgan Wilson (2.20, .362). Towson is one of two teams in the CAA with five players averaging 2.00 kills a set or better so far this fall. The Tigers are one of the top blocking teams in the country, led by Wiers' 1.15 per set average. Aayinde Smith is second with a 1.10 average. Tiger opponents are hitting at just .097 percent this fall, landing Towson as one of just three teams in Division I holding opponents below 10 percent (New Mexico (.070) and Maryland (.085)). Rachel Hess gets to nearly everything, averaging 4.48 digs per set, third-best in the CAA. Towson has three of the top five hitters in the league as well, with Wiers (.395), Cajic (.391) and Wasiakowska (.390) ranking second, third and fourth, respectively.

Scouting the Pride
Hofstra is coming of a 1-2 weekend in Hamilton, New York, sweeping Cleveland State, a common opponent this fall, before falling in three to another common foe, Princeton, and dropping a four-setter against host Colgate. Hofstra enters league play at 6-5 on the season. Florencia Wolkowyski leads the Pride with 2.73 kills per set, followed by Ana Martinovic (2.68) and Bianca Bucciarelli (2.20). Athina Dimitriadis leads with a .299 hitting percent (55-20-117). Beatriz Alves runs the offense, dishing out 9.20 assists per set while Martinovic is the top server with 16 aces. On defense, Sarah Pierre averages a team-best 1.35 blocks per set, and is joined by Zyare Abdul-Rahim's 1.00 per-set average. Chiara Cucco leads the way with 5.18 digs per set and carries a .960 reception percentage.

Towson-Hofstra By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Hofstra Leads 40-19
at Towson Hofstra 15-8
at Hofstra Hofstra 17-7
at Neutral Sites Hofstra 8-4
at Unknown Sites n/a
First Meeting 1982 (Hofstra 2-0)
Last Meeting Oct. 27, 2019
Towson 3-1
Streak Towson +2

Been a Minute.
Nearly two years. That's how long its been since these two long-time foes have formally met. Last spring the Tigers travelled to Hempstead in mid-March, but the match was postponed and ultimately cancelled. Towson and Hofstra have not played since Oct. 27, 2019, a 3-1 Tiger win at the David S. Mack Physical Education Center.

However, the Tigers have played at The Mack more recently, winning the 2019 CAA Championship over James Madison in straight sets on Nov. 24, 2019.

Towson's last trip to Long Island resulted in a 3-0 sweep at Stony Brook on Feb. 20.

Last Time Out vs. Hofstra | Oct. 27, 2019
Hempstead, N.Y. | David S. Mack Physical Education Center
Towson overcame a rare miss in the first set to pick up the next three to grab a 3-1 win on the road at Hofstra. Lydia Wiers (13), Olivia Finckel (11), Silvia Grassini (11) and Emily Jarome (11) all posted double-digit kills en route to the win. Fourty-nine assists came from the hands of eventual CAA Setter of the Year Marrisa Wonders while Finckel aided in five blocks. Jarome added a double-double, pairing 13 digs with her 11 kills. Laura Masciullo led the match with 23 kills while Ana Martinovic notched 11. The former added three block assists as well.

With a Win at Hofstra on Friday, Towson Would...
- Improve to 3-0 in true road matches this season.
- Win its 20th match all-time against Hofstra.
- Pick up its sixth-straight win in the State of New York, dating back to the 2017 season.
- Win its 37th straight regular season match, dating back to Sept. 14, 2019 in a sweep of UAlbany.
- Be victorious in its 24th straight CAA match dating back to the 2018 season.
- Win its 15th straight regular season road match, going back to, you guessed it, the 2019 season with a sweep at Loyola on Sept. 20 during the Tiger Invitational (long story).

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 Sept. 14, Towson is ranked third in the country in opponent hitting percentage, holding opponents to a combined .092.
- Last weekend at the Tiger Invitational, Towson held Lehigh, FAU, Temple and Norfolk State to a combined .133 percentage. Opponents' percentages dropped lower and lower through the weekend, led by a .167 by Lehigh and a .073 for Temple in the penultimate match.
- 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. She is one of three 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).

We're Going Streaking! (Per NCAA Extended Stats)
- Towson has the longest active winning streak in the country at 12 straight matches.
- The Tigers have won 23 straight conference matches.
- Towson has won its last 22 matches at home.
- The Tigers have won their last 14 regular season road matches.
- Towson has won its last 11 road conference matches.

Five-Headed Monster
- Like the Hydra of Greek mythology, Towson's offense is a multi-headed monster for opponents.
- Five Tigers average better than two kills per set, led by a 3.00 average from Fay Bakodimou. Nina Cajic (2.70), Emily Jarome (2.62), Lydia Wiers (2.35) and Morgan Wilson (2.20) are all north of that 2.00 bench mark.
- Each of those five players have at least two matches this fall with double digits, made more impressive by Morgan Wilson coming in as a reserve starter for a few matches for injuries.
- Towson is one of two teams in the CAA with five players averaging 2.00 kills per set, joined by a quintet from Northeastern.
- James Madison and Hofstra have four at the mark, Delaware, William & Mary and Charleston all have three while Elon and UNCW have two averaging 2.00 kills or better.

The Ace of Spades (The Ace of Spades)
- Towson's serving was on fire AGAIN last weekend as the Tigers combined for 25 service aces during the Tiger Invitational.
- Towson served up 27 aces in the opening weekend with another 32 coming in the Towson Invitational.
- Towson is ranked 14th in the most recent NCAA Extended Stats (Sept. 14), averaging 2.1 aces per set.
- The Tigers are second in the country in total aces (84), despite playing just 40 total sets.

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.

525,600 Minutes
- It's been a weird calendar year for college athletics.
- Towson is playing its second season during the 2021 calendar year, playing this spring after the COVID-19 Pandemic moved the action later in the 2020-21 academic year.
- Despite this oddity, Towson will play a third opponent for the third time this calendar year on Saturday morning, taking on the Temple Owls.
- Towson won the first matchup this calendar year back on Feb. 27, 2021 in four set.
- Joining the Owls in double meeting in 2021 are Delaware and Morgan State. Towson swept the Blue Hens and Bears in those previous pair of meetings.
- Towson and Delaware played in early March, Towson's lone CAA matches last spring.

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 408-199 all-time (.672) 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: 178-69
- Metil is second all-time in wins at Towson University.
- Cathy Cain: 201-143 (1989-98) | Don Metil: 178-69 (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: 1-0
- Towson's 2021 vs. Four-Legged Mascots: 11-0
- This week's opponent, Hofstra, is represented by four-legged lions.
- 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 last Spring 2021 foe, the Dayton Flyers, are in the four-legged category (Orville and Wilbur Wright). (This is according to an impromptu Twitter poll).

Bird of a Feather
- Bird mascots are very popular, it seems, on the Towson schedule.
- The Tigers will play nine matches this fall against feathered foes.
- Despite that number, Towson has yet to play a bird mascot, but will play three this week.
- Towson has won its last 13 matches against bird-related mascots, including a 3-0 mark in 2021. The Tigers play six more matches in the regular season against feathered foes.

Protect this House
- Since moving into SECU Arena full time in 2013, Towson has racked up an impressive 76-23 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 already 8-0 this fall at SECU Arena with seven sweeps in eight chances.
- Towson has won 22 straight at home since early in 2019.

How Sweep it is, to be Won By You
- Towson has won its last six matches in sweeping fashion, topping Princeton, Morgan State, Lehigh, FAU, Temple and Norfolk State in straight sets over the last two weekends.
- Towson's last run of sweeps this long came during the 2019 season, beating UAlbany, Loyola, NJIT, UNH and Delaware in three sets.
- The Tigers opened the 2016 campaign with six straight sweeps.
- The last time Towson won seven straight in three sets was during the 2011 under the guidance of Bruce Atkinson, beating Robert Morris, La Salle, Coppin State, Morgan State, UMBC, Loyola and Morgan State in three sets apiece.

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.