Catch up on the CAA Volleyball weekly news, notes and awards.

CONFERENCE NOTES

TOWSON MAKES IT FOUR IN A ROW  

• Towson won its fourth consecutive CAA Championship title with a straight-set victory over third-seeded Delaware in the tournament final. 

• The Tigers become the third program in league history to win four straight conference championships, but the first since George Mason won five consecutive from 1992-1996. 

• With the win, Towson has five CAA Championship titles overall, which is tied for the third most in league history. 

CAA ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM 

Victoria Barrett (MOP), Towson
Nina Cajic, Towson
Aayinde Smith, Towson
Ezgi Basaranlar, Delaware
Lani Mason, Delaware
Kayla Martin, Northeastern
Maddie Meyers, William & Mary

TIGERS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

• Towson received the conference’s automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Tournament and will face Georgia in the first round on Thursday at 6 p.m.

• The Tigers are making their fifth overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament and fourth in the past four seasons.

• Towson holds a 1-4 record overall in the Big Dance, with its victory coming in 2019. That season, the Tigers defeated American (3-2) in the first round. 

TOWSON’S DOMINANT RUN

• During Towson’s four-year run as CAA champions, the Tigers have a 45-4 overall in CAA play, including a 15-1 mark this fall. 

Additionally, nine of Towson’s 16 all-time wins in the conference tournament have been since 2019, while Towson has improved to 13-2 in the CAA Tournament as the top seed. 

TOWSON, HOFSTRA HIGHLIGHT ALL-CAA

• Towson and Hofstra had a league-high five All-CAA honorees in the conference’s year-end awards. 

Each team had three on the All-CAA first team. Towson’s Victoria Barrett, Nina Cajic and Lydia Wiers were accompanied on the All-CAA first team by Zyare Abdul-Rahim, Beatriz Alves and Chiara Cucco from Hofstra. Lani Mason represented Delaware, while Erica Staunton of Northeastern and Elon’s Leah Daniel rounded out first-team All-CAA. 

🏐 @Towson_VB receives votes in the final @AVCAVolleyball poll of the regular season. That makes 12 straight weeks for the Tigers! pic.twitter.com/nZZ25jzJaO

— Colonial Athletic Association (@CAASports) November 28, 2022

TEAM NOTES

Charleston 

• Charleston ended its season in the CAA quarterfinals. The Cougars finished the season with a 14-16 record after going 9-7 in conference play. 

• Gabi Bailey paced Charleston in with 279 kills (2.82 per set) and was second on the team with 267 digs (2.70 per set). Bailey tallied 10 double-doubles this season and has 22 throughout her career. 

• Emma Falk led Charleston with a career-best 119.0 blocks, ranking third in the CAA with 1.20 blocks per set. Falk set the single-season record for blocks per set (1.65) in 2020 and ranks third all-time, finishing with a career average of 1.26 per frame.

Delaware

• Delaware reached the CAA Championship title match for the first time since 2016. It came under first-year head coach Kim Lambert. 

The Blue Hens ended the year 17-11 overall, including a 10-6 mark in CAA play. 

• Lani Mason led the CAA in points (589.5) and kills (537). She ranks fifth in the NCAA with 5.54 points per set and sixth with 5.03 kills per set. Additionally, Mason tallied at least 10 kills in 27 of 28 matches this season, including six with at least 20 and five with 30-plus.  

• Ezgi Basaranlar recorded a team-high 836 assists and ranked third in the conference with 9.77 assists per set. Basaranlar had over 40 assists on six occasions, surpassed 50 three times and had a career-high 65 on Nov. 5. 

Elon

• Elon qualified for the CAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time since joining the conference. The Phoenix fell in the CAA quarterfinals and finished the season 13-14 overall, including a 10-6 mark in conference play.  

• Leah Daniel led Elon with 379 kills and was fifth in the CAA with 3.52 kills per set. It marks the third season in her career with over 375 kills. She concludes her career as Elon’s all-time leader in kills with 1,556.

• Jordan Gower paced Elon with a career-best 439 digs and led the CAA with 4.57 digs per set this season. It marks her first season with over 400 digs as she eclipsed double figures in 26 matches this year. 

Hampton

• Hampton finished the season against UNCW, dropping back-to-back contests to the Seahawks. Hampton concludes the year 3-16 overall in its inaugural CAA season. 

• Gabby Calloway led Hampton with 151 kills and 2.36 kills per set. She also was second on the team with 122 digs (1.22 per set). Calloway recorded at least 10 kills in team-high seven matches this season. 

• Julieta Campana paced Hampton with 337 assists (5.37 per set) and added 116 digs (1.81 per set). Campana had double-digit assists in every match this season, including 20 or more eight times. Additionally, she tallied six double-doubles this fall. 

Hofstra 

• Hofstra made the CAA Championship for the seventh time in eight years, but the Pride fell in the quarterfinals. Hofstra ended the fall 17-12 overall after a 14-2 mark in CAA play. 

• Beatriz Alves led the CAA in assists (1,069) and assists per set (9.90) this season. Alves had at least 20 assists in every match this season, with 30 or more 21 times and at least 40 on 10 occasions. Additionally, Alves recorded 11 double-doubles. 

• Chiara Cucco ranked first in the CAA with 475 digs and was third with 4.40 digs per set this fall. Cucco recorded double-figure digs in 27 matches this season, including nine with 20-plus.

North Carolina A&T

• North Carolina A&T just missed the CAA Tournament, finishing the season 9-17 overall and posting a 5-11 record in conference play during their first season in the CAA. 

• Naiya Sawtelle led the North Carolina A&T attack, ranking second in the conference in kills (429) and kills per set (4.17). Sawtelle posted double-digit kills in 22 matches this season, including 20 or more on seven occasions. Additionally, she added 200 digs (1.94 per set) and recorded nine double-doubles this season.

• Hannah Howell was second on the team with 251 kills (2.46 per set) and 205 digs (2.01 per set). Howell tallied double-digit kills in 12 matches and eclipsed double-figure digs in nine, including seven double-doubles this fall.

UNCW

• UNCW defeated Hampton in consecutive matches to end the season, marking the first time the Seahawks have won back-to-back matches this fall. They concluded the season 6-19 overall, including a 4-12 mark in CAA play.

• Katie Lanz led UNCW with 288 kills and 2.84 kills per set this season. In addition, Lanz was second on the team with 200 digs (2.02 per set). She tallied at least 10 kills in 15 matches and posted seven double-doubles this year. 

• Annabelle Schall led the team with 650 assists (6.57 per set) and 220 digs (2.22 per set) this fall. Shall recorded at least 20 assists in 17 contests this fall and posted 10 double-doubles. 

Northeastern 

• Northeastern qualified for the CAA Tournament for the seventh straight season, falling in the semifinals after its first quarterfinal victory since 2013. The Huskies finished the season 14-13 overall after going 10-6 in CAA play. 

• Erica Staunton led the Northeastern attack, ranking third in the CAA in kills (389) and kills per set (4.01). Staunton reached double-figure kills in 24 matches this season and surpassed 20 on seven occasions. 

• Kayla Martin paced the Husky backline with 441 digs and 4.20 digs per set. She ranked third and fourth, respectively, in each category. Martin had at least 10 digs in 22 matches, including five in a row to end the season. 

Stony Brook

• Stony Brook fell in the first round of its first CAA Tournament appearance. After the setback, the Seawolves finish their inaugural CAA season 10-16 overall with a 5-11 conference record. 

• Kali Moore led Stony Brook with 326 kills (3.26 per set) and was second on the team with 263 digs (2.63 per set). Moore ranked fifth in the CAA in kills and kills per set, recording double figures in 14 matches this season. Additionally, she tallied 11 double-doubles in her rookie year. 

• Abby Campbell was second in the conference with a .361 hitting percentage, while Leoni Kunz was fifth, hitting .283. Overall, Stony Brook was third (.212) in the conference as a team.  

Towson

• Towson won its fourth straight CAA Championship with a straight-set victory over No. 3 Delaware. The Tigers are the third team in league history to win four consecutive titles - the first since George Mason in 1992-1996.

• Victoria Barrett was named CAA Tournament MOP after recording 4.70 kills per set on a .380 hitting percentage and 3.00 digs per set. Barrett had double-figure kills in all three matches, including a season-high 16 twice. 

• Aayinde Smith paced Towson with 16 blocks (1.60 per set) for a Tigers blocking unit that totaled 3.20 blocks per set throughout the tournament. Smith accompanied Barret on the CAA All-Tournament team. 

William & Mary

• William & Mary fell in the CAA semifinals after the Tribe’s first tournament victory since 2001 in the quarterfinals. The Tribe finished 12-14 overall this fall and went 6-10 in CAA play.  

• Anna Porter paced the Tribe defense, ranking second in the conference in digs (455) and digs per set (4.46). Porter reached double-digit digs in 24 matches this season, including 20 straight to end the year. Additionally, Porter surpassed 20 digs eight times with two 30-plus efforts. 

• Eleanor Stothoff led William & Mary with 284 kills and was sixth in the CAA with 3.19 kills per set. She tallied at least 10 kills in 13 matches and surpassed 20 twice.