TigersTigers

We are saying the same thing. They will never fire him in a million years. But when it comes time to renew, that is the bar by which he will be measured.

Help win the conference? Sure. But this team has also beat up on Delaware for 8 years prior to the last two. When the department paid Don $156,000 last year (double what a normal mid-major volleyball coach typically commands), it became clear that just winning the conference isn’t the ultimate goal for them. They have been promised a nationally relevant program, and that’s what it’s going to take for Don to meet their expectations now. They want the 2019 and 2022 type of teams (ranked wins, NCAA tournament wins, undefeated runs, receiving AP votes, etc.). Just winning the conference because the conference got worse and then getting steamrolled in the first round of the tournament once every 5 years isn’t what they are looking for with that type of money. If that is the result of the next few years, then the department will probably make the connection that they can get that while paying somebody else $75,000 a year. Don is making P5 (P4 now, I guess) money at a school that does not have P5 money to give him. The standards have to be different.

Rough. Out-attacked, out-served, and out-blocked Delaware just to lose 3 consecutive sets by 2 points. Leading late in every set, the Tigers threw every single lead away. What does that sound like? The Towson of old. Tonight’s 3-1 semi-final loss essentially confirms that the era of excellence is thoroughly behind us, and this program has reverted back to the “should’ve” program that they were from 2014-18. They do return the majority of the starting lineup next season, so they’ll still be in the mix. But being in the mix and being champion are two hugely different levels, and it feels like this group’s ceiling is a couple stories lower than the previous group’s. One thing Don and his staff are is outstanding recruiters. They recruited Barrett (who still has a year of eligibility left, although it doesn’t seem like she’ll use it), they recruited Nina Cajic, they recruited Irbe Lazda, they recruited all of the players that made this team the deepest in CAA history just three years ago. Now, they have to get out there and do it again. “Pretty good” is no longer the bar for Towson volleyball. Don’s salary alone shows that the athletic department is expecting nothing short of greatness from this program. He has to answer the call quickly, or it won’t be his responsibility much longer.

An easy 3-dong of Stony Brook sets up the expected semi-final matchup with Delaware. Newly-crowned CAA POTY Victoria Barrett led the way, and the Tigers’ quality was just a bit too much for a Stony Brook team that has gotten wins in the tournament before. Elsewhere, Hofstra dispatched A&T without issue, and the final 4 will be the exact quartet that we expected all along. Tomorrow’s schedule: #1 Charleston vs. #4 Hofstra - 3:00PM #2 Delaware vs. #3 Towson - 6:00PM

Maybe slightly. But honestly being 1-4 barely makes a difference at all this year, other than earning first-round byes. Even the byes have been shown to be a double-edged sword historically. I just think that if we did have a semifinal rematch with Charleston, we’d be more likely to win. With Delaware, it’s a total toss-up. It’ll just come down to who woke up on the right side of the bed that day.

A tough but fun final weekend of the regular season comes to a close with Towson grabbing a 1-1 split against Hofstra, a tense 3-2 loss on Friday followed up by a great 3-1 win on Saturday. While a disappointing result, the Tigers showed some grit on Friday, coming back from being down late in the 4th to push the match to 5. The tiebreaker didn’t go their way, but they bounced back on Saturday to earn what we call in volleyball a “winning split” (won by more than they lost by). As a result, they earn the 3-seed over the Pride. The final standings are: 1. Charleston (15-3) 2. Delaware (15-3) 3. Towson (14-4) 4. Hofstra (14-4) 5. NC A&T (12-6) 6. Stony Brook (9-9) 7. Northeastern (8-10) 8. W&M (8-10) 9. Elon (5-13) 10. UNCW (4-14) 11. Campbell (4-14) 12. Hampton (0-18) Charleston earns the #1 seed over Delaware by virtue of having beaten Towson twice, whereas Delaware only beat them once. The Cougars, while unmistakenly dangerous, also enjoyed the easiest schedule of any of the top 4 teams. Nonetheless, they managed to draw home-court advantage in the tournament from Towson’s grasp, which will become effective in 2025. For now, the Cougars will fight to prove their seed in SECU Arena. Delaware, to me, is scarier than Charleston, and at the moment I would consider them the favorite-iest of the favorites. In that regard, I’m slightly annoyed that Towson drew Delaware as their potential semifinal opponent. Towson, while definitely not perfect, is absolutely still good enough to win this thing. They *should* beat Stony Brook, which would set up the rubber match with Delaware. From there, anything can happen. Hofstra is weird. They are a team of really good players that are sometimes better than the sun if their parts, sometimes worse. They are more battle-tested than Charleston, and I’m not taking anything for granted in a potential semifinal matchup against the Cougars. Congratulations to the NC A&T Aggies for making the CAA tournament for the first time. They were picked 11th in the preseason poll, but rattled off some impressive regular season victories to get here, including two wins over Charleston. They don’t stack up talent-wise to the top 4, but volleyball is not played on paper. There isn’t a ton to say about Stony Brook. Everybody knew they would be trouble, and they proved to be trouble. Towson did just beat the Seawolves twice in their place, but they have wins over Hofstra and Charleston. Ever since joining the conference, Stony Brook has proven to be a team that does more with less, and as long as they’re in the tournament, they’ve got a shot. Well, there you have it. The grind of conference play is over, and it’s time for the fun part. This is the toughest tournament to call since 2015, and it’s all no use to try anyway. If you’re in the area (unlike me), head on over to SECU and watch some good volleyball!

On what could have been a trap weekend for Towson, they travelled to Stony Brook and won both matches comfortably, setting up a potentially crazy final week of the regular season. There is still everything to play for going into the last two matches, with literally not a single team being fully certain of their place in the standings yet. T1. Towson, Charleston, Delaware, Hofstra (13-3) 5. NC A&T (10-6) 6. Northeastern (8-8) 7. Stony Brook (7-9) 8. William & Mary (6-10) Eliminated: Elon, UNCW, Campbell, Hampton The Tigers play their old buddies Hofstra at home, with possibly first place on the line. They would need help from a few others, but you never know. What we do know is that two losses to the Pride would guarantee the Tigers the 4-seed. All other outcomes are uncertain. No matter what, it won’t be doom-and-gloom; with four teams clearly separating themselves as the contenders, failing to get a bye would not be the end of the world. Even as the 4-seed, they would play A&T first, who is a pretty clear step down from the top 4. After that, it’s just the top 4 left, in any configuration. So there isn’t really going to be an “easier” or “harder” path in the bracket. Delaware should pick up two wins against already-eliminated Elon and grab a bye in the process, while Charleston will be facing Northeastern in two huge games for both teams. Stony Brook is currently one game out of the playoffs, but they should beat Campbell twice, while Northeastern has a much more difficult road. W&M is *technically* still alive, and they will pick up two wins against Hampton. However, they would need Northeastern to lose twice to Charleston (definitely possible) and Stony Brook to lose at least one match to Campbell (not completely unheard of, but unlikely). Like I said, after 16 matches absolutely nothing has been solved, and this will be another exciting end to a very competitive season.

The Tigers have a really strong home weekend against Northeastern, beating the Huskies twice without dropping a set. All four of the top teams won both their matches this week, so nothing to report there. Delaware was the biggest winner of the week, defeating Stony Brook twice to essentially clear the final hurdle on their schedule. Both them and Charleston should go undefeated the rest of the way, meaning Towson has to win out against Stony Brook and Hofstra to even have a shot at a bye.

A wild and wacky Week 6 in the CAA sees Towson pick up 2 road wins against Elon. That result was expected; several others weren’t. The big matches of the week between Hofstra and Delaware both went the Blue Hens’ way in 5 sets. Stony Brook and Northeastern split their matches, which benefits Stony Brook more, as they’re one game ahead in the standings. But the biggest happening of the weekend, by a mile, was Charleston throwing away all of their momentum by losing BOTH matches to middle-of-the-pack A&T. For context, Towson beat A&T 3-0 twice a couple weeks ago. The shock results bolster the Aggies’ playoff hopes substantially, and create a logjam at the top. Here are the standings: T1. Charleston (9-3) T1. Towson (9-3) T1. Delaware (9-3) T1. Hofstra (9-3) 5. NC A&T (8-4) 6. Stony Brook (7-5) 7. Northeastern (6-6) 8. Elon (5-7) 9. W&M (4-8) T10. UNCW (3-9) T10. Campbell (3-9) 12. Hampton (0-12) Charleston is still most likely to end up as the #1 seed, as their schedule is very easy from here on out. Delaware welcomes the dangerous Stony Brook next week, which is proving to be a trap game for just about every team in the league. Hofstra has W&M, while Towson hosts a Northeastern team that needs a win badly, currently sitting one game outside of the playoff picture.

The Tigers beat Hampton twice this week and nobody on either side cares. Hampton is legitimately a bottom-5 team in the country. Their presence in this conference is a total anchor in every sport except football (it’s even dicey there), and it is hurting every team in this league, most of all the Pirates themselves. I honestly feel for the athletes; they didn’t ask for this. They have to reap the embarrassing consequences of an athletic department making bad decisions, fighting an unfair fight against teams far better-equipped than them. Having just passed the halfway point of the season, I’ll do a brief rundown of the conference and what we can expect down the stretch. Contenders: Charleston (9-1), Hofstra (9-1), Towson (7-3), Delaware (7-3) With their two huge wins over Towson last weekend, Charleston announced their triumphant return to the upper echelon of the conference. A perennial contender in the mid-2010s, the Cougars had languished in mediocrity for the last 5 years. But now they’re back, and are overwhelmingly likely to finish as the number-1 seed, as they don’t play any of the top teams the rest of the way. Hofstra is also back where they belong in the conversation, but I believe they are actually the weakest of the four contenders. They have not played any of the other top teams thus far, and we will see how good they really are next week when they play Delaware. Last week’s abject failure at Charleston aside, Towson is still right up there, and is in good position to get the number 2 seed. The Tigers are the only team that has to play all 3 of their direct competitors in the regular season. They’ve proven they can beat Delaware on the road, I believe they’re better than Hofstra, and I’d honestly take them in a rematch at home against Charleston. The next three weeks will be a bit tricky but totally winnable against Elon, Northeastern, and Stony Brook. If they come out unscathed, then they’re in really good shape going into the final week against their volleyball nemesis Hofstra. It’s been pretty smooth sailing for Delaware so far, save for a surprising and embarrassing back-to-back losses to W&M last weekend. Their matches against Hofstra next weekend will be a pretty good litmus test for both teams to see where they are at. Unfortunately, the Blue Hens do not play Charleston. Potential Playoff Teams: Stony Brook (6-4), NC A&T (6-4), Elon (5-5), Northeastern (5-5) Stony Brook appears to be easily the best of these four teams, and could be a problem when Towson travels to them on 11/9-10. The Seawolves have really good wins over both Charleston and Hofstra, but also some terrible losses. I’d say they’re pretty odds on to take a spot in the six-team CAA tournament. It’s a bit of a toss-up between the other three for the last spot. Elon and Northeastern both have to play Towson, while A&T still has Charleston and Hofstra. Non-factors: W&M (3-7), UNCW (2-8), Campbell (WTF), Hampton (0-10) The Tribe are actually okay, they just have easily the toughest schedule in the whole league. They even pulled off two impressive wins against Delaware, but they’re just too far behind the 8-ball at this point. UNCW is inconsequential. Campbell has been a strong program for years and years in two different conferences, and they even finished third last season. I have no idea what the catalyst was for this complete meltdown, but I can only hope they’re back soon. Hampton is Hampton.

The worst weekend of volleyball Towson has had in six years. Awful in serve receive. Served lollipops. Stupid attacking decisions. Zero defensive composure. Zero clutchness whatsoever. Didn’t even turn up for the Friday match, completely fumbled a winnable Saturday match. There is nothing good to say, so I won’t say anything else at all.

Not much to see this weekend from the Tigers, as they beat NC A&T twice without dropping a single set. Vic Barrett won Offensive POTW yet again, and the Tigers will move into another tough road weekend at Charleston with a lot of confidence. The Cougars are looking very strong this season, and currently sit at 5-1, tied atop the standings with 4 other teams. Charleston has historically been the toughest place to play for Towson, but the last couple of seasons have been more fruitful in that regard. This weekend will tell us a lot about the strength of the “other” competitors in the conference, and if any of them can really challenge Towson and Delaware.

Towson emerges from their toughest road weekend of the season 1-1, with a 3-1 loss to the Blue Hens on Saturday followed up by a 3-2 win on Sunday. The two front runners in the conference looked like exactly that, and I would be willing to put money on the CAA Championship match being a rematch in November. There honestly isn’t that much to say about the weekend that we don’t already know. Saturday was bad and Sunday was good, and that’s what it will come down to when these teams inevitably meet again. I will say that we’re definitely seeing some growth from this team, and that was apparent today. The setting was much improved, and the out-of-system defense looked a lot more coordinated and cohesive today. Shout out to Sarah Callendar, who was absolutely terrific in both matches this weekend. She attacked confidently and very cleanly, only making a combined 2 hitting errors across the series. That style pairs perfectly with Vic Barrett, who racks up kills but also tends to compile more errors as well. With Callendar at her back taking really good care of the ball, it gives her more of a green light to take risks and be aggressive. Lastly, the biggest positive from the weekend was the return from injury of Erin Brothers. She wasn’t super involved on Saturday, but on Sunday she showed just how big of a difference her presence can make for this team, putting up 10 kills with zero errors. In fact, her and de Mango combined to hit .586 from the middle on Sunday against a Delaware team that usually has a huge advantage over their opponents in that phase of the game. Overall, it obviously wasn’t a perfect weekend, but this team is clearly improving, and the second match was the best one they’ve played all season so far. If nonconference instilled some mild doubts in this team’s ability to win the conference with a new group of players, this weekend silenced them. The Tigers still have what it takes.

The Tigers wrap up a satisfactory opening weekend to conference play with two wins over W&M, sweeping the Tribe on Saturday and then holding on for a 3-2 win on Sunday that actually wasn’t as close as the set score might suggest. Despite blowing sets 3 and 4 in the second match, the Tigers were never really in any danger as they immediately went up by 8 in set 5 and put the game to bed. Some quick fire thoughts: - Victoria Barrett will almost certainly be CAA POTW, with a combined 45 kills across the two matches. Clearly the best player on the floor, and that will be the case for most matches this season. - Ball control has been an issue for Towson for a while, and it’s an even bigger problem this year. The setters are inexperienced and inconsistent, and Don recently alluded in an interview to the fact that their starting jobs are not totally secure. Sarah Callendar is a solid OH2 but is a liability in serve receive, and Barrett has never been the steadiest passer. Sydney Stewart looked pretty good this week, but the serve receive unit is still shaky and it makes the setting job even harder. - Ava Nakai has slotted right in to the starting lineup at the second opposite position as a freshman, and is an awesome secondary weapon to have. She is very athletic with good fluid arm talent, and even reminds me a bit of Nina Cajic, the best player ever to put on a Towson jersey (who is absolutely tearing it up for Tennessee these days). Thanks in large part to her, Towson still has the best core of pin hitters in the conference. - This team really misses Erin Brothers, who is still out with an obviously long-term injury. In her absence, both Kendall Minta and Mackenzie Whyte have seen playing time at the middle position, with neither being all that impactful. Ylenia de Mango is very good, but second middle will be a weakness until Brothers returns. Next up, it’s a road trip to the defending champion Blue Hens, who opened their season with a pair of sweeps over a hapless-looking Campbell. These will be two big matches, but it makes me miss the old scheduling format, wherein you would play two different teams in a weekend. Now, the two favorites will play at the very start of the season, and will never meet again so there’s never really an opportunity to make adjustments or track head-to-head progress.

The Tigers end a thoroughly unexciting nonconference 9-1, having settled on some lineup choices and solidified some things. Freshman Ava Nakai has been a welcome addition at Opposite, putting up good numbers on relatively high volume. Vic Barrett looks outstanding on the left after a mildly disappointing 2023, and W&M transfer Sarah Callendar has emerged as the second outside hitter. So who is their first conference opponent? What do you know, it’s W&M! The Tribe have been the conference cellar-dwellers for 20 years, but have recently built themselves into a more robust and respectable program. We’ll never know why Callendar chose to leave the program, but I can’t imagine the Tribe are thrilled about it.