When                                Saturday October 8,2022
                                          Sunday October 9,2022                                                                           
Where                               Bob Carpenter Center | Newark, Del.                                                
Times                                Saturday: 2 p.m.                                                                                                         
                                           Sunday: 2 p.m.
Team Records                  Towson (16-0, 6-0 CAA)                                                                                                
                                           Delaware (10-4, 6-0 CAA)                                                                              
Stream                               FloVolleyball ($)                                                                               
Series                                Towson Leads Delaware 47-39                          
 
First Serve
The Towson University Tigers travel to Newark, Del., to face the Delaware Blue Hens in the battle for first place. The Tigers are looking to have their best-ever start to a season in program history. This is the first time these teams will face each other, with a 6-0 conference record.
 
Receiving Votes
This week the Tigers received 36 votes in this week's AVCA Coaches Poll. If Towson earns enough votes, it will be the first time that the program has been ranked in its 47-year history.
     
All We Do is Win
Towson is one of four unbeaten teams in the country heading into this weekend with #1 Texas, #23 UCF and Auburn remaining. The Tigers are tied with Western Kentucky and Jacksonville State for the second most wins in the nation with 16, trailing only Texas State by one win.
 
Nationally Recognized
Nina Cajic was named GameChanger/AVCA National Division I Women's VB Player of the Week last week. Cajic had 32 kills, including a season-high 18 kills on Sunday's win against Stony Brook. She averaged 5.33 kills per set and a .698 hit percentage. In Saturday's match against Stony Brook, Cajic totaled 14 kills on .737 hit percentage. This is the time first time a player from Towson has won this award.
 
Welcome to the CAA
Towson has started CAA play with all three newcomers into the CAA this year, Monmouth does not have a women's volleyball program. The Tigers are 6-0 against the new members, sweeping them in five of the six matches this season.

Scouting the Reigning Tigers
Towson picked up where they left off last year and have won 16 straight matches to open the campaign. The Tigers swept the Pirate Invitational defeating Norfolk State, East Carolina, and Furman. Towson hosted the Tiger Invitational and won all four matches, including a thrilling five-set victory over Rutgers. The Tigers competed in the Panther Challenge and swept Bowling Green and American, then knocked off #7 Pittsburgh. Towson started CAA play with two sweeps over newcomers Hampton behind strong team performances. The Tigers went up to Long Island and swept Stony Brook twice, including a hard-fought on Saturday. Towson welcomed North Carolina A&T to SECU and won both matches to tie the program's record for the best start to a season. Nina Cajic leads Towson in kills (163) and kills per set (3.08), while Victoria Barret leads the team in points per set (3.66) and service aces (20). Sarah Jordan has made an instant impact leading the Tigers in assists (334) and assists per set (6.30).
 
Leading the Conference
The Tigers are not only leading the conference, but leading the conference in most statistical categories. Towson leads the CAA in aces per set (2.06), assists per set (13.36), blocks per set (2.62), hitting percentage (.305), kills per set (14.28), team assists (708), opponent hit percentage (.149), total blocks (139) and team service aces (109). The Tigers are not first in only five categories.

Fresh Faces
Towson brings in nine new faces this year: Erin Brothers, Trinity Burge (Radford), Sydney Stewart, Victoria Barrett (New Mexico State), Sarah Jordan, Kerra Trimble (Southern Idaho), Amiyah De'Long (Stony Brook), Maya Scott (New Orleanes) and Jasmine Purakal.                 
 
Lockdown Defense
Through 16 matches this season, the Tigers are ranked ninth in the country in opponent hit percentage (0.149). Lydia Wiers is currently in first place in the CAA in blocks per set averaging 1.28 and first in the CAA in total blocks with 68. Rachel Hess leads Towson in digs (175) and digs per set (3.43).
 
Electrifying Offense
The Tigers offense has been phenomenal to start the 2022 season. Towson ranks fifth in the nation in hit percentage at 0.305. The Tigers sit sixth in the nation in kills per set with 14.28 and rank fourth in assists per set at 13.36. Nina Cajic ranks first in the CAA and fourth in the country in hit percentage with a .444 while teammate Lydia Wiers sits second in the CAA with a .383 hit percentage. Fay Bakodimou sits tied for fourth in the conference in service aces per set averaging 0.38.     
 
Highly Awarded
Lydia Wiers was named CAA Defensive Player of the Week on Monday for the second time. The senior from Willard, Ohio totaled 17 blocks, including a season-high nine blocks on Sunday's match against North Carolina A&T. On Saturday, she had a team-high eight blocks with six kills and a .444 hit percentage. Last month she earned the honor after tallying 14 blocks at the Panther Challenge, averaging 1.40 blocks per set, while the team averaged 3.30 blocks per set over the weekend. Wiers had six blocks against #7 Pittsburgh.
Last week, Nina Cajic earned CAA Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this year with 32 kills, including a season-high 18 kills last Sunday. Cajic averaged a hit percentage of .698 and had a .737 percentage in Saturday's match. Earlier in the month, she earned the honor by totaling 43 kills, 10 blocks and having a .397 hit percentage over four matches. The junior from Subotica, Serbia had double-digit kills in three of the four matches with only four errors on 99 attempts. 
                                                                                                                 
Towson-Delaware By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Towson Leads Delaware 47-39
at Towson, Towson Leads 19-17
at Delaware, Towson Leads 20-12
at Neutral Sites, Towson Leads 8-6
at Unknown Sites, Delaware Leads 4-0
First Meeting 1976 (Delaware 2-0)
Last Meeting Oct. 31, 2021
Towson 3, Delaware 2
Streak Towson +12

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

IT IS NOT: TOE-son, Townson, Towsond, 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".

With a Win on Saturday, Towson Would...
- Win its 17th straight match to open the season to break the program record for best start.
- Win its 19th straight regular season match, dating back to Nov. 7, 2019, against James Madison.
- Win their ninth straight regular-season CAA match.
- Win their 12th consecutive match against the Blue Hens.
- Extending their winning streak to 12 against Delaware in Newark.
                                                                                                             
Returning to the Court
-Towson will be returning nine players from last year's team.
- The Tigers' experience from last year is a combined 594 sets played, including Lydia Wiers, Rachel Hess, and Fay Bakodimou who totaled 342 sets.
- The 19 current members of the program have played in 1,527 total collegiate sets across their respective careers.

Back-to-Back-to-Back Champs
- The Tigers remain as the reigning champions of the league, winning their third-straight CAA title.
- Last year, sweeping Delaware in the semifinals and defeating Elon 3-2 in the championship.
- Since Towson joined the CAA in 2002, no team has three-peated as champions.
-The only teams to have won three or more titles in a row were William & Mary seven times (1985-1991) and George Mason five times (1992-1996).
- The Tigers hoisted the league trophy after a perfect 4-0 regular season in the spring of 2021, which included 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 CAA Tournament.
- There are five Tigers currently on the roster that were members of the historic back-to-back-to-back championship teams: Katie McCracken, Lydia Wiers, Asia Goins, Morgan Wilson and Fay Bakodimou.                                                                                                                         

League of Their Own
-Over the last seven seasons, Towson has been one of the top teams in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). Since the 2015 campaign, the Tigers have registered a 94-25 record in league play, including a record-setting 16-0 mark in 2019.
-The Tigers went 12-4 last year and never got swept. The last time Towson was swept in league play happened against College of Charleston in 2018.
2022: 6-0 | 2021: 12-4 | 2021 (spring): 2-0 | 2019: 16-0 | 2018: 10-6 | 2017: 12-4 | 2016: 10-6 | 2015: 12-4 | Total: 94-25 (.790)

Top of the Charts
- Now in his 21st season as an NCAA volleyball head coach, Coach Don Metil has amassed 438 wins.
- Metil is 438-204 all-time (.682) 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: 208-74
- Metil passed Cathy Cain on the all-time wins list after knocking off #7 Pittsburgh earlier this season.
- Don Metil: 208-74 (2013-Pres.) | Cathy Cain: 201-143 (1989-98) | Chris Riley: 144-54 (2000-05)

Protect this House
- Since moving into SECU Arena full-time in 2013, Towson has racked up an impressive 92-24 (.793) overall record at SECU Arena.
- The Tigers have four 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 went 3-0 in the shortened spring 2020 season.
- The Tigers finished last season with a 17-4 record at SECU Arena.
- Towson has won 15 straight at home since October 3rd.

Scouting the Blue Hens                                                                                                                           
Delaware comes in with a 10-4 overall record, a 6-0 CAA record and a nine-game winning streak. The Blue Hens started their season with a five-set loss to Temple and a four-set loss to Seton Hall. Delaware bounced back with a sweep against George Washington but fell to American in four sets and UMBC in five sets. The Blue Hens swept Wyoming, Winthrop and Davidson in the Winthrop challenge. Delaware started CAA play with a sweep and a five-set victory over Northeastern, then two sweeps against Hampton. The Blue hens are coming off a five-set win and a sweep against College of Charleston. Lani Mason was named GameChanger/AVCA National Division I Women's VB Player of the Week for her performances against the College of Charleston, including a 38-kill and a 28-dig match.