10-17-2025 4:51am

TU 17-Game

Volleyball Invites Elon to SECU Arena with 17 Match Winning Streak at Stake

When Friday, Oct. 17 at 6 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 18 at 2 p.m.
Where SECU Arena | Towson, Md.
Live Stats TowsonTigers.com
Stream FloCollege
Series Towson leads the all-time series 21-3

By Eric Ryan

TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University volleyball team invites the Elon Phoenix to SECU Arena for two Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) matchups on Friday and Saturday. The matches are slated for 6 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.

Last Week's Recap
Towson visited Williamsburg, Va. for two matches vs. the William & Mary Tribe at Kaplan Arena last weekend. In the opening match, the Tigers went down 2-0 before completing the reverse sweep over the final three sets. On Saturday, Towson survived the Tribe once more, to move to 17-2 overall and a perfect 8-0 in the league slate.

Scouting the Phoenix
Elon enters the weekend series at 4-13 overall and 2-4 in CAA play. The Phoenix didn't face a common opponent of Towson's in non-conference play and recorded their pair of league wins over Hampton in the opening weekend of the CAA slate. Middle blocker/right side hitter Cameron Lanier was the lone Phoenix named to the Preseason All-CAA team. Middle blockers Caroline Berlekamp and Catherine Rucker were named honorable mentions. The Phoenix was picked to finish eighth in the preseason poll.

Awards Season
Libero Sydney Stewart claimed her third consecutive CAA Defensive Player of the Week award on Oct. 6 after pacing the league with 6.83 digs per set in the Tigers' two straight-set wins over UNCW. The senior dug out 18 attacks on Saturday and 23 on Sunday.

Tiger middle Malinah Purcell-Telefoni earned her second weekly award of the season on Oct. 6, this time as the CAA Rookie of the Week. The freshman boasted 22 kills on a .385 hitting percentage in two road wins over Northeastern, adding five blocks and six digs.

Stewart claimed her second-consecutive defensive player of the week award on Oct. 6 after leading all players with 50 digs, averaging 5.56 per set in two wins over Northeastern. The senior had 29 in Friday's four-set match for a mark of 7.25 per set.

Stewart was named the CAA Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 22 after totaling 53 digs over eight sets against Charleston, averaging 6.63 digs per set. The Pennsylvania native finished with match-highs of 36 on the five-set battle on Saturday and 17 in the Black & Gold's Sunday sweep.

Opposite hitter Ella Sanders earned a share of the CAA Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 15 following her 59 kill, 70 dig performance with three double-doubles at SECU Arena. She added five service aces and six blocks. Against Lafayette, the New Mexico product boasted 17 kills, 26 digs and 3 aces. Sanders is the lone player in the nation to post at least 15 kills, 25 digs and three service aces in a match, according to evollve.net.

Outside hitter Taylor Pagan was named a CAA Co-Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 8 after posting 60 kills on a .307 hitting percentage in the Tigers' 4-0 weekend hosting the Towson-Morgan State Invitational, including a career-high 23 kills vs. Kent State. The Colorado State transfer finished the weekend with two double-doubles, totaling 14 kills and 10 digs vs. Quinnipiac and 15 kills and 13 digs vs. New Orleans.

Middle blocker Malinah Purcell-Telefoni earned the CAA Defensive Player of the Week nod on Sept. 8 after totaling 25 blocks in the Tigers' perfect weekend. She was productive on both sides of the ball, averaging 2.83 and 1.67 blocks per set in the Tigers' four wins. The freshman posted 25 kills on a .353 hitting percentage and added five service aces.

Record Book Watch
On Sept. 5 vs. Quinnipiac, libero Sydney Stewart became the 18th player in program history to eclipse 1,000 career digs. She stands seventh all-time with 1,312 total digs for the Black & Gold.

Stewart could also finish among the program's all-time service ace leaders when all is said and done. On Saturday vs. William & Mary, she became the 17th player in program history to eclipse the century mark.

Metil Detector
Towson Head Coach Don Metil is the all-time winningest coach in program history with a 286-90 record dating back to 2013. Now in his 24th season as an NCAA head coach, Metil eclipsed 500 career wins in the Tigers' opening weekend sweep over Old Dominion. At his previous stops, Metil collected 145 wins at UMES, 15 at Coppin State, 30 at Lees-McRae and 40 at Notre Dame College.
Record breakdown
- Metil is 516-220 all-time (.701) 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: 286-90
- Metil passed Cathy Cain as the all-time wins leader after knocking off No. 7 Pittsburgh on Sept. 10th, 2022.
- Don Metil: 286-90 (2013-Pres.) | Cathy Cain: 201-143 (1989-98) | Chris Riley: 144-54 (2000-05)

Among the Nation's Best
The Tigers own a 154-25 overall record dating back to 2019, giving them an 86.0% win percentage over the past seven seasons. That percentage lands the Tigers at 5th overall in Division I over that span, behind only Texas, Pitt, Western Kentucky and Nebraska.

Protect this House
Since moving into SECU Arena full-time in 2013, Towson has racked up an impressive 141-29 (.829) overall record at home. That total includes CAA Championship matches played at SECU Arena.
- Thus far through the 2025 season, the Tigers are a perfect 12-0 at home.
- The Black & Gold finished the 2024 regular season 16-1 at SECU Arena.
- The Tigers have nine seasons with double-digit wins, including a perfect 16-0 mark in 2022 and a 17-1 mark in 2021. In three of the 12 seasons in the arena, the Tigers didn't play at least 10 matches at home.
- Dating back to 2019, the Black & Gold have amassed an 86-7 (.925) record in the arena.

A League of Their Own
Since 2015, Towson has been one of the top teams in the CAA. The Tigers have recorded a 127-31 record (.804) in CAA regular season play since then, including a record-setting 16-0 mark in 2019.
-The Tigers finished league play 14-4 in 2024 with losses only to CAA Championship participant teams.
-Towson finished conference play at 16-2 in 2023, including their first three-set loss in league play since 2018.
-The Black & Gold finished with a 15-1 mark three seasons ago, going a perfect 8-0 at home.
-Four years ago, The Tigers went 12-4 and never got swept.
2025: 8-0 | 2024: 14-4 | 2023: 16-2 | 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: 127-31 (.804)

Back in Black (& Gold)
The senior trio of Brothers, Stewart and Sarah Callender return to lead the Tigers into the 2025 season. Brothers and Stewart earned Preseason All-CAA nods, announced by the league office on Aug. 18.

Brothers earned her second Preseason All-CAA Team honor after being named an honorable mention prior to the 2024 campaign. She totaled 98 kills, 56 blocks, four assists and four digs in 65 sets over 18 matches played. The Ohio native missed the first 12 matches of the 2024 season while recovering from injury.

Stewart is the lone libero to receive Preseason All-CAA Team recognition. She appeared in all 30 matches for the Tigers last season, totaling 508 digs, 133 assists, 38 service aces and two kills over 111 sets. The Pennsylvania native finished third among league leaders with 4.58 digs/set. Stewart finished tied for ninth in the CAA with 0.34 service aces/set.

CAA Preseason Poll
Towson was picked to finish third in the CAA Preseason Poll after receiving one first place vote and finishing with 88 total points. Charleston and Hofstra edged out the Black & Gold with 92 and 90 total points, respectively. The Cougars received five first place votes while the Pride finished with four.

North Carolina A&T finished fourth with one first place vote and 68 total points. Stony Brook (62), William & Mary (55) and Northeastern (47) solidify the top seven. Elon (34), UNCW (30), Campbell (29) and Hampton (10) round out the group.

2024 Recap
Towson finished the 2024 regular season at 24-6 overall and 14-4 in CAA regular season play. The Tigers earned the No. 3 seed in the CAA Championship, hosted at SECU Arena, and after defeating the No. 6 Stony Brook Seawolves in the opening round, were knocked out by the No. 2 Delaware Blue Hens in the semifinal round in four sets.