Towson Volleyball Drops First Two Matches of 2026 Season at Mizzou Invitational

Towson University volleyball opened the 2026 season with a difficult doubleheader Friday, falling to Idaho in five sets before host Missouri swept the Tigers at the Mizzou Invitational in Columbia, Missouri.

Towson showed plenty of promise in its first action of the season, particularly in the opener against Idaho, but costly errors and an inability to close out late leads left the Tigers at 0-2 following the first day of competition.

Towson Lets Two-Set Lead Slip Away Against Idaho

Towson could hardly have asked for a better start against Idaho.

The Tigers controlled the first two sets, winning 25-17 and 25-15 to move within one set of opening the season with a victory. Towson recorded 13 kills in the opening frame before producing 16 kills and hitting .414 in the second.

Anna Rice emerged immediately as Towson’s primary offensive weapon. Rice finished the match with a match-high 19 kills while hitting .368, including eight kills during Towson’s dominant second set. Setter Kaitlyn Moran directed the offense with a match-high 31 assists.

The Tigers, however, could not maintain that efficiency.

Idaho responded by taking the third set 25-18, and Towson appeared positioned to finish the match in the fourth when it held a 21-18 advantage. Instead, the Vandals scored seven of the final eight points to steal the set 25-22 and force a fifth.

That late collapse proved costly.

Towson generated 11 kills in the deciding set, but five attacking errors helped Idaho pull away for a 15-12 victory and complete the comeback. Idaho won the match 17-25, 15-25, 25-18, 25-22, 15-12.

The final statistics showed how close Towson was to winning.

The Tigers held a substantial 60-40 advantage in kills and outhit Idaho .192-.136. Towson also finished with 56 assists and nine service aces. However, the Tigers committed 31 attacking errors compared with Idaho’s 22 and surrendered an 11-6 disadvantage in blocks.

That combination allowed Idaho to survive despite generating 20 fewer kills.

Missouri Takes Control in Nightcap

Towson returned to the court later Friday against host Missouri, providing the Tigers with a difficult early-season test against an SEC opponent.

Missouri entered the tournament projected ninth in the 17-team SEC preseason coaches’ poll and featured a substantially reconstructed roster with nine returning players and nine newcomers.

Towson stayed competitive offensively but again struggled with errors.

Missouri defeated Towson 25-19, 25-17 and 25-21, improving to 2-0 while dropping Towson to 0-2. Missouri finished with a .299 hitting percentage compared with Towson’s .190.

The Tigers actually recorded more kills than Missouri, 38-36, but committed 18 attacking errors compared with Missouri’s 10. Missouri also held advantages of 7-2 in service aces and 11-4 in blocks.

Missouri established control immediately, hitting .480 with 14 kills during the opening set.

Towson remained within striking distance in the second set, trailing 18-15 before Missouri closed on a 7-2 run. The Tigers then produced their strongest stretch of the match in the third set and actually outhit Missouri, but Mizzou still closed out the sweep with a 25-21 win.

Rice again led Towson offensively, finishing with 12 kills while hitting .310. Missouri’s Paige Felder led all players with 13 kills while hitting .387.

Rice therefore totaled 31 kills across Towson’s first two matches of the season, establishing herself as one of the Tigers’ biggest early offensive contributors.

Errors Become the Opening-Day Story

Towson’s 0-2 record did not tell the entire story of its opening day.

Against Idaho, the Tigers had 20 more kills and a higher hitting percentage. Against Missouri, they again held the advantage in total kills.

The problem was giving opponents too many opportunities.

Towson accumulated 49 attacking errors across the two matches. The Tigers also struggled against opposing blocks, particularly Missouri, which finished with 11 compared with Towson’s four.

Those are correctable issues, particularly this early in the season.

There were also clear positives. Rice looked comfortable immediately in a major offensive role, Moran generated 31 assists against Idaho and Towson demonstrated enough offensive firepower to score efficiently against two different styles of opponent.

Tigers Respond Before Leaving Missouri

Towson did not have to wait long to show that Friday’s problems were fixable.

The Tigers returned Saturday and defeated Western Illinois in four sets, 22-25, 25-19, 25-19 and 25-17, to finish the Mizzou Invitational with a 1-2 record.

That performance provided a strong response to the opening-day losses.

Towson outhit Western Illinois .292-.118 and finished with a 57-38 advantage in kills. Rice and Evi Priniotaki each recorded 13 kills, while Moran posted a 30-assist double-double.

The Tigers therefore left Columbia with a victory and evidence that the offensive potential displayed Friday could translate into results when the errors were reduced.

MSB Take

Towson’s opening record looked worse than the volleyball the Tigers actually played.

Blowing a two-set advantage against Idaho certainly hurts, especially when Towson produced 20 more kills. But early-season tournaments are designed to expose weaknesses, and Towson found an obvious one immediately: execution at the end of sets and limiting unforced errors.

The encouraging part is that the Tigers were generating offense.

Rice’s 31 kills across Friday’s two matches gave Towson a legitimate go-to option from the opening serve of the season, while Moran showed she can keep the offense moving. Towson was not being overwhelmed offensively. It was largely hurting itself.

Then the Tigers responded by beating Western Illinois the following day.

That matters. Instead of leaving Missouri 0-3 after a frustrating opening weekend, Towson made adjustments and produced its best overall statistical performance of the tournament.

For a program with championship expectations under head coach Don Metil, there is plenty to clean up, but there is also plenty to build around.

Towson now turns its attention back toward Maryland. The Tigers visit Loyola Maryland on Sept. 4 before playing their home opener against Saint Peter’s at SECU Arena on Sept. 5 and facing Morgan State at Hill Field House on Sept. 6.