When Friday, August 25, 2023
Saturday, August 26, 2023
Where Carolina Volleyball Center | Columbia, S.C.
Times Friday: 6 p.m.
Saturday: 2 p.m.
Team Records Towson (0-0)
South Carolina (0-0)
Stream SEC Network + ($)
Series South Carolina Leads Towson 1-0
First Serve
The Towson University Tigers volleyball team starts its 2023 season with a pair of matches against South Carolina. The Tigers are looking for their fifth consecutive Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) title after going 29-2 last season and earning an eighth seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Scouting the Reigning Tigers
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).
Fresh Faces
Towson brings in eight new faces this year:
Julia Lenik,
MacKenzie Whyte,
Maisie Jesse,
Lauren Mullings,
Ylenia De Mango (Auburn University at Montgomery),
Zyare Abdul-Rahim (Hofstra),
Yazmin Frazier (David & Elkins College) and
Joie Allen (Frostburg State).
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 lost 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.
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.
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.
Towson-South Carolina By the Numbers
All-Time Series Record South Carolina Leads Towson 1-0
at Towson, N/A
at South Carolina, South Carolina Leads 1-0
at Neutral Sites, N/A
at Unknown Sites, N/A
Only Meeting Sept. 11, 2004
Towson 0, South Carolina 3
Streak South Carolina +1
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 Friday, Towson Would...
- Win its first match against South Carolina.
- Win its fifth straight season opener.
- Defeat its first SEC opponent.
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.
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 99-26 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 the College of Charleston in 2018.
2022: 13-1 | 2021: 12-4 | 2021 (spring): 2-0 | 2019: 16-0 | 2018: 10-6 | 2017: 12-4 | 2016: 10-6 | 2015: 12-4 | Total: 101-26 (.795)
Top of the Charts
- Now in his 22nd season as an NCAA volleyball head coach, Coach
Don Metil has amassed 447 wins.
- Metil is 447-206 all-time (.685) 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: 217-76
- Metil passed Cathy Cain on the all-time wins list after knocking off #7 Pittsburgh last season on Sept. 10
th.
-
Don Metil: 217-76 (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 95-24 (.798) 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.
- Towson has won 18 straight at home since October 3, 2021.
Scouting the Gamecocks
South Carolina was picked to finish 11
th in the Southeastern Conference in the preseason coaches' poll. The Gamecocks went 13-15 last season with a 7-11 mark in the SEC. Lauren McCutcheon led the team last season in kills (272) and points (321.5), while the Gamecocks also return middle blockers Ellie Ruprich and Oby Anadi who finished with over 100 total blocks last season.
