TOWSON, Md. – One day away from the start of the 2023 CAA Women's Volleyball Championship, the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) has announced that four Tigers have earned All-CAA honors Wednesday morning. Don Metil was named CAA Coach of the Year while Nina Cajic was voted CAA Player of the Year.
 
Cajic and Victoria Barrett earned All-CAA First Team honors for the second straight season. Aayinde Smith and Irbe Lazda were named to the All-CAA Second Team.
 
Don Metil | Coach of the Year
Don Metil was named CAA Coach of the Year for the fifth time during his tenure at Towson. Metil guided the Tigers to their fourth consecutive CAA Regular Season title, going 16-2. The Tigers currently have a 23-5 overall record and picked up their first win in program history against a Southeastern Conference (SEC) opponent. Towson currently leads the conference in kills, kills per set, assists, assists per set, total blocks, blocks per set, hitting percentage and opponent hitting percentage.
 
Nina Cajic | Outside Hitter
Nina Cajic is the first Towson player to win CAA Player of the Year since Marrisa Wonders did it in 2018. She earned her fourth consecutive All-CAA honor, including her third All-CAA First Team selection at Towson, spring 2021 and 2022. Cajic ranks second in the conference in kills with 353, a career-best, averaging 3.57 kills per set to lead the Tigers. The senior outside hitter currently has a .324 hitting percentage and has nine matches where she finished with a .400 or higher hitting percentage. The Subotica, Serbia native is fourth on the team in digs with a career-high 20, averaging 2.01 per set. She leads the team with a career-best 40 service aces and has 46 total blocks.
 
Victoria Barrett | Outside Hitter
The junior outside hitter was named to All-CAA First Team for the second straight year. Victoria Barrett has a career-best 333 kills, averaging 3.36 kills per set, ranking second on the team. The Stafford, Virginia native has finished 20 matches with double-digit kills, including the last 11. Barrett finished with a career-best 25 kills against Delaware. She ranks second on the team in digs with 203, averaging 2.03 per set. Barrett has totaled 65 blocks, including ten solo blocks. She currently has 35 service aces, which ranks second on the squad.
 
Irbe Lazda | Outside Hitter
Irbe Lazda was voted All-CAA Second Team after ranking fifth in the conference in hitting percentage with a .340 tally. Lazda has finished 12 matches with a .400 or higher hitting percentage. The redshirt junior outside hitter has a career-best 261 kills, ranking third on Towson. She had a career-best 18 kills on .500 hitting percentage in a five-set win over Delaware. Lazda has 91 total blocks, ranking sixth in the CAA and second on the team. She averages 2.81 kills per set and 0.98 blocks per set, both career-highs. Lazda earned back-to-back CAA Player of the Week honors to start the season.
 
Aayinde Smith | Middle Blocker
Aayinde Smith was named All-CAA Second Team for the second consecutive year. Smith currently leads the CAA in total blocks with 119 blocks, averaging 1.2 blocks per set. The senior middle blocker is fourth on the team in kills with 154, averaging a career-best 1.57 kills per set. The Garland, Texas native has a .336 hitting percentage that ranks eighth in the conference. Smith has finished ten matches with a .500 or better hitting percentage. She finished with a season-high nine blocks in Towson sweep against South Carolina.