When                                          Saturday Oct.14th & Sunday Oct. 15th, 2023
Where                                         Hanover Hall | Wilmington, N.C.
Times                                          Saturday - 4 p.m.
                                                    Sunday - 2 p.m.
Team Records                           Towson (13-5, 6-2 CAA)
                                                    UNCW (8-10, 5-3 CAA)
Stream                                        FloVolleyball
Series                                         Towson Leads UNCW 34-17            

First Serve
The Towson University Tigers volleyball team heads to Wilmington for the first time since 2019 and take on the UNCW Seahawks for a pair of matches.

Scouting the Reigning Tigers
Towson continued CAA play with a pair of matches against CAA newcomers Campbell. The Tigers swept the Camels on Saturday, but were swept on Sunday. Towson faced off against Hofstra in Long Island. The Black & Gold swept the Pride on Saturday, then Towson followed up with a five-set victory on Sunday led by Nina Cajic's 20 kills. The Tigers hosted Delaware in their home opener. The Tigers fell to the Blue Hens in a five-set thriller, but followed up with a five-set victory behind career days from Cajic, Victoria Barrett and Sarah Jordan. The Black & Gold started CAA play with a trip to Virginia to take on the Hampton Lady Pirates. The Tigers swept the Lady Pirates in Saturday's match and followed up with a four-set victory on Sunday. 

The Black & Gold closed out non-conference play with a 1-2 week after traveling out west to Washington. The Tigers fell in four sets to #8 BYU, snapping their 13 sets consecutive set streak and followed with a loss to host #13 Washington State. Towson wrapped up the Cougar Challenge with a four-set victory over UC Irvine.

The Black & Gold played five matches the week before as the Tigers cohosted the Towson/Morgan State Invitational. Towson went a perfect 5-0, picking up four sweeps. The Tigers defeated Baltimore-rivals Morgan State 3-0 behind Irbe Lazda's 14 kills on .500 hitting percentage led the way. Towson followed up with a four-set victory against fellow NCAA Tournament team, FDU. The Tigers finished the invitational with three sweeps over Dartmouth, Temple and Rider. Nina Cajic finished with 51 kills over five matches while Erin Brothers had 22 blocks and Aayinde Smith had 21 blocks.

The Tigers opened the season splitting two matches against South Carolina last weekend. The Tigers swept the Gamecocks in the first match behind 12 blocks, led by Smith's nine total blocks to win the program's first match over an SEC opponent. Towson dropped the next match in four sets, but Lazda tied a career-high in kills with 17 on a .452 hitting percentage.

Towson comes into the season looking for its fifth consecutive CAA title as the Tigers were voted by the opposing coaches to finish first. The Black & Gold bring back 12 players from last year's 29-2 team, including the dynamic duo of Victoria Barrett and Nina Cajic, who both earned All-CAA First Team honors and American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) East All-Region honors last season.

Barrett accumulated 329 kills to rank first on the team, averaged a team-high 3.05 kills and finished 19 matches with double-digit kills. She had a season-high 16 kills four times, including against Delaware in the CAA Championship. The outside hitter amassed 230 digs to finish second on the squad and finished ten matches with double-digit digs. 

Cajic amassed a career-high 303 kills to rank second on the team while averaging 2.78 kills per set and finished with double-digit kills in 15 matches. The outside hitter finished 21 matches with a .300 hit percentage or higher, including ten matches with .500 or higher and added a career-high 85 blocks. She led the CAA in hitting percentage with a .374 tally.

The Tigers also bring back All-CAA Second Team middle blocker Aayinde Smith who ranked second on the team in total blocks with 129 blocks to rank 14th in program history for single-season blocks. Graduate student Rachel Hess returns as Towson's libero who led the Black & Gold in digs (390) and digs per set (3.64).

Back-to-Back
Irbe Lazda was named CAA Offensive Player of the Week after being named CAA Defensive Player of the Week the previous week. Lazda led the Tigers with 57 kills, averaging 3.56 kills per set with a .421 hitting percentage while adding 17 total blocks. The Marupe, Latvia native totaled blocks with 12, including a team-high three solo blocks against South Carolina. The outside hitter averaged 1.71 blocks per set and tied a career-best with 17 kills in the second match at South Carolina on a .452 hitting percentage.

Last Season Recap  
The Tigers had a historic 2022 season that saw the Black & Gold make the NCAA Tournament as an eighth seed. The Tigers had the best start to a season in program history going 18-0, including defeating #7 Pittsburgh in four sets to pick up the first win over a top-ten team in program history. Towson fell to Elon in five sets in their only regular-season loss, then won eight straight matches including two against Hofstra to secure the CAA regular-season title. The Black & Gold defeated Stony Brook in four sets then swept both Northeastern and Delaware to claim their fourth consecutive CAA postseason title. The Tigers were awarded an eighth seed and faced Georgia in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament, where they fell in four sets. 

Welcome to the CAA
Towson and the rest of the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) will welcome the Campbell Camels to the conference. The Camels joined the CAA after 12 years in the Big South Conference, where they won the regular season title last year and won the Big South Tournament in 2021. 

Block Party!
Towson picked up where they left off last season, ranking 19th in the country in blocks and 20th in blocks per set with 172.5 total blocks and averaging 2.65 blocks per set. Aayinde Smith leads the Tigers and the conference with 64 total blocks, while Erin Brothers has the second most blocks on the team with 59. Irbe Lazda ranks third on the team with 52. 

Back-to-Back-to-Back-to-Back Champs
- The Tigers remain the reigning champions of the league, winning their fourth-straight CAA title.
-Last year, the Black & Gold defeated CAA newcomers Stony Brook in four sets, then swept Northeastern in the semi-finals and Delaware in the championship match to secure the title.
-In 2021, the Tigers swept Delaware and won in five sets against Elon in the CAA Championship.
-Since Towson joined the CAA in 2002, no other team has three-peated as champions.
-The only teams to have won four 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 a 3-1 win over Elon and a sweep of James Madison in the CAA Tournament.    

Welcome Home!
Zyare Abdul-Rahim returns home after four seasons at Hofstra where she totaled 571 kills and 146 total blocks. The Baltimore, Maryland native had a stellar season last year, tallying a team-best 308 kills, averaging 2.91 kills per set while racking up 55 blocks to rank third on the Pride.  She registered double-digit kills in 16 matches, including a career-high 21 kills against Hampton.

League of Their Own
-Over the last seven seasons, Towson has been one of the top teams in the CAA. Since the 2015 campaign, the Tigers have registered a 93-25 record in league play, including a record-setting 16-0 mark in 2019.     
-Last season, the Black & Gold finished with a 15-1 mark, going a perfect 8-0 at home.                
-The Tigers went 12-4 two years ago and never got swept. The last time Towson was swept in league play happened against the College of Charleston in 2018.
2023 6-2 | 2022: 15-1 | 2021: 12-4 | 2021 (spring): 2-0 | 2019: 16-0 | 2018: 10-6 | 2017: 12-4 | 2016: 10-6 | 2015: 12-4 | Total: 93-27 (.775)

With a Win on Saturday, Towson Would...
- Win its eighth straight CAA road match.
- Win its 13th consecutive match against UNCW.
- Remain atop of the CAA standings.  

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".

Fresh Faces
Towson brings in seven new faces this year: Julia Lenik, MacKenzie Whyte, Maisie Jesse, Lauren Mullings, Ylenia De Mango (Auburn University at Montgomery), Zyare Abdul-Rahim (Hofstra) and Joie Allen (Frostburg State).

Top of the Charts 
- Now in his 22nd season as an NCAA volleyball head coach, Coach Don Metil has amassed 464 wins.
- Metil is 464-211 all-time (.687) 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: 234-81
- Metil passed Cathy Cain on the all-time wins list after knocking off #7 Pittsburgh last season on Sept. 10th.
- Don Metil: 234-81 (2013-Pres.) | Cathy Cain: 201-143 (1989-98) | Chris Riley: 144-54 (2000-05)

Setting The Standard
Sophomore setter Sarah Jordan was named CAA Offensive Player of the Week earlier this week after a 2-0 weekend against Hofstra. This is Jordan's first CAA Player of the Week honor and is the first Towson setter to win Offensive Player of the Week since Marissa Wonders did it on November 14, 2019. She totaled 85 assists, averaging 10.63 per set as the Leesburg, Virginia native guided the Tigers to finish with a .327 hitting percentage. On Saturday, Jordan tallied 31 assists with eight digs, three blocks and two kills in a sweep over the Pride. She followed up with her fifth double-double this season with 54 assists and 12 digs while adding six kills in a five-set victory.

Protect this House!
- Since moving into SECU Arena full-time in 2013, Towson has racked up an impressive 97-26 (.789) overall record at home.
- 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 the 2021 season with a 17-4 record at SECU Arena.

Instant Impact
Victoria Barrett had a phenomenal first year at Towson after transferring from New Mexico State. The Stafford, Virginia native led the Tigers in kills (329), kills per set (3.05), points (401.5) and points per set (3.72) last season while ranking second in service aces (31), digs (230) and digs per set (2.13). Barrett earned All-CAA First Team and was named an American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American Honorable Mention, the second Tiger ever to earn the honor.

Record Breaking Day
The Tigers had a record setting day on Sunday against the Delaware Blue Hens. The Black & Gold set a program record for the most kills in a match with 88. Towson finished with a program record 82 assists, which was the first time the Tigers have ever recorded 80 or more assists in a match. Three Tigers set a new career-high in kills with Nina Cajic totaling 25, Victoria Barrett with 24 and Irbe Lazda with 18. Setter Sarah Jordan set career highs in four categories: 59 assists, 18 digs, six kills and two blocks.

Cream of the Crop
Towson is off to another stellar start, leading the CAA in multiple categories. The Tigers lead the CAA in opponent hitting percentage holding opponents to a .162 hitting percentage, which is ranked the 29th best in the nation. The Black & Gold rank first in the CAA and tenth in the nation in hitting percentage with a .295 clip. The Tigers have totaled the most blocks this season with 172.5 and average 2.65 blocks per set to rank first in the conference. Towson averaged 12.88 assists per set to lead the conference. Senior middle blocker Aayinde Smith leads the CAA in total blocks with 76.

Towson-UNCW By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record Towson Leads 34-17
at Towson, Towson 18-1
at UNCW, Towson 11-7
at Neutral Sites Towson 5-3
at Unknown Sites n/a
First Meeting 1979 (Towson 2-0)
Last Meeting Sept. 26, 2021 
Towson 3-0
Streak Towson +12

Scouting the Seahawks
UNCW has totaled an 8-10 overall record, but sits tied for third place with a 5-3 CAA record along with five teams. The Seahawks rank 42nd in the nation in digs per set averaging 15.88, which is the second highest total in the conference. UNCW started the 2023 season with the UNCW Hampton Inn University Invitational. The Seahawks picked up losses against Fordham and Stetson, but swept Presbyterian. UNCW took part in the Davidson Invitational and fell to Northern Illinois in five sets, then bounced back with a sweep over Queens. The Seahawks wrapped up the invitational with a four-set defeat against Davidson. UNCW returned home to host the Hampton Inn and Suites Seahawks Classic, sweeping Alabama State in the first match. UNCW fell to East Carolina and Norfolk State before closing out non-conference play with a four-set loss to Coastal Carolina. The Seahawks started conference play with two sweeps against North Carolina A&T. UNCW defeated Elon twice to remain perfect in CAA play. The Seahawks were victorious over Campbell in five sets, before losing to the Camels in four sets. Last weekend UNCW were swept in both matches against Charleston.