Matchups      Towson vs. Idaho | Friday, Aug. 28 at 1 p.m. CDT/ 2 p.m. EDT
                        Towson vs. Missouri | Friday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. CDT/ 8 p.m. EDT
                        Towson vs. Western Illinois | Saturday, Aug. 29 at 1 p.m. EDT/ 2 p.m. EDT
Where             Mizzou Arena | Columbia, Missouri
Live Stats       TowsonTigers.com
Stream            SEC Network+ (vs. Missouri only)

TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University volleyball team kicks off its 2026 campaign in Columbia, Missouri for the Mizzou Invitational. The Tigers open the invitational against Idaho on Friday, Aug. 28 at 1 p.m. CDT/ 2 p.m. EDT and will face the host Missouri Tigers at 7 p.m. CDT/ 8 p.m. EDT that night. They close the weekend against Western Illinois on Saturday at 1 p.m. CDT/ 2 p.m. EDT.
 
Scouting the Vandals
Idaho was picked to finish ninth among 11 teams in the Big Sky Conference after going 6-22 a season ago. Outside hitter Kiana Greer returns to the squad after pacing the team with 333 kills in 2025, averaging 3.30 per set.
 
Scouting the (Missouri) Tigers
In the Southeastern Conference (SEC) preseason coaches' poll, Missouri was picked to finish ninth among 17 teams. The Tigers' team is comprised of nine returners and nine newcomers tasked with replacing their 2025 season leaders in kills, assists, service aces, digs and blocks.
 
Scouting the Leathernecks
Western Illinois, led by former Towson assistant Mariana Silva, checked in at eighth among nine teams in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) predicted order of finish. Outside hitter Kennedy Adair and opposite hitter Georgia Haynes were named to the 2026 OVC volleyball watch list.
 
Preseason All-CAA Honors
The Coastal Athletic Association released its preseason All-CAA team on Aug. 19.
 
Middle blocker Malinah Purcell-Telefoni garnered a preseason All-CAA team selection after pacing the league with 117.0 total blocks in her freshman campaign. Her 1.04 blocks per set mark ranked third among CAA players a season ago. Purcell-Telefoni amassed 182 kills, averaging 1.63 per set, on a .275 hitting percentage, also a top mark among 2025 league leaders. She added 24 aces and 10 assists in 112 sets.
 
Outside hitter Taylor Pagan nabbed a preseason All-CAA honorable mention. Despite missing ten matches a season ago, Pagan averaged 2.73 kills per set on a .231 hitting mark. In 64 sets, the Florida native totaled 175 kills, 14 assists and eight service aces.
 
In the CAA preseason poll, the Tigers were picked to finish third after garnering two first place votes. Charleston and Hofstra finished first and second, respectively, while North Carolina A&T, Campbell and Stony Brook rounded out the projected CAA Championship teams.
 
Back in Black (& Gold)
The Tigers feature nine returners from 2025, highlighted by Purcell-Telefoni and Pagan. Other returners include Natalia PeBenito, Ava Drye, Addie Leber, Tshilanda Diouf, Peyton Meyer, Destini Pickett and Katlyn Moran.
 
The Tigers are returning 39.6% of their kill production and 45.8% of their assist production from 2025 with the losses of major contributors.
 
On the defensive side, they bring back 25.9% of their dig production and 59.3% of their block production.
 
Earning their Stripes
The Tigers' newcomer group is highlighted by transfer additions of outside hitter Anna Rice from TCU, opposite hitter Bjanka Stojanovic from Georgia Tech, middle blocker Lilia Duczek from Hofstra and libero Megan Platt from Wheeling. Rice was ranked as the No. 1 recruit in the state of Oklahoma out of high school.
 
Among the Tigers' five incoming freshman, middle blocker Clara Vorel earned 2025 Georgia Volleyball Coaches Association (GVCA) Class 5A Co-Player of the Year. Other first-year additions include setter Kamree Orizotti, who set the Oregon high school all-time career assists record with 3,567 assists, outside hitter Nola Duncan, libero Kayla Zanon and outside hitter Evi Priniotaki.
 
2025 Recap
After dropping the first two matches of the 2025 season, Towson won 18 consecutive matches, tying the program's all-time record set in 2022 when the team went 29-2. The Tigers finished the regular season 12-4 in league play, earning the No. 3 seed in the CAA Championship. They faced No. 6 Stony Brook in their opening match of the tournament, falling three sets to one.
 
Metil Detector
Towson Head Coach Don Metil is the all-time winningest coach in program history with a 290-95 (.753) record dating back to 2013. Now in his 25th season, Metil is 520-225 (.697) overall as an NCAA head coach and boasts four CAA Coach of the Year awards during his tenure at TU: 2014, 2015, 2019 and 2022. He also earned American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Coach of the Year award in 2019.
Record breakdown
- Metil is 520-225 all-time (.697) 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: 290-95
- Metil passed Cathy Cain as Towson's all-time wins leader after knocking off No. 7 Pittsburgh on Sept. 10th, 2022.
- Metil surpassed 500 career NCAA wins vs. Old Dominion on Aug. 30, 2025.
 
A League of Their Own
Since 2015, Towson has been one of the top teams in the CAA. The Tigers have recorded a 131-35 (.789) record in CAA regular season play since then, including a record-setting 16-0 mark in 2019.
 
2025: 12-4 | 2024: 14-4 | 2023: 16-2 | 2022: 15-1 | 2021: 12-4 | 2020(Spring '21): 2-0 | 2019: 16-0 | 2018: 10-6 | 2017: 12-4 | 2016: 10-6 | 2015: 12-4 | Total: 131-35 (.789)