Latrobe native Don Metil returning home to lead Towson women's volleyball team into NCAA Tournament

While growing up in Latrobe, Don Metil and his closest friends spent countless hours at Legion Keener Park playing volleyball. So great was their love for the game that they tried to persuade the administration at Latrobe High School to start a boys volleyball team.

That didn’t happen until after Metil’s 1990 graduation, but his love for the sport persisted. Now, he is coming home, and he is bringing a new group of “friends” with him.

Metil is in his ninth year as the women’s volleyball coach at Towson, and the Tigers will be at Petersen Events Center this weekend for the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Towson will face perennial power and 15th-ranked Penn State in the first round at 4 p.m. Friday. Pitt, host for the early rounds by virtue of its No. 3 overall seed, will play UMBC in the second match Friday.

“It’s definitely exciting to be in the same class as (coach Dan) Fisher at Pittsburgh and Russ Rose at Penn State, programs I grew up watching,” Metil said.

Towson (26-4) got into the tournament by virtue of winning the Colonial Athletic Association title for the third consecutive year. The Tigers were down 2-0 to Elon in the championship match before storming back to win the final three sets.

Metil’s run at Towson is just his latest coaching success. Earlier this season, he won the 400th match of his 20-year career, with many of those victories coming in Maryland. Before being hired at Towson, where he has 192 wins, the Cal (Pa.) grad won a combined 160 matches at Coppin State and Maryland Eastern Shore.

“My life has gone full circle a couple of times,” he said. “When I was a (middle school) teacher, I worked right here in the Towson community, then left and was able to come back. So (the NCAA Tournament) is just another opportunity for me to get back and kind of enjoy the area I grew up in.”

Metil said he still has several close family members and friends in the area, and he is certain several of them will be at The Pete to support him. But there might not be a lot of time for lengthy visits with the specter of Penn State looming.

Over the past three seasons, Towson is 61-8 overall, including a victory over American in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament. Penn State, however, presents a different challenge.

“You don’t wait all year long for Christmas to come and then be afraid to open up your gifts,” Metil said. “For us, we’ve put in an enormous amount of work and hopped over some hurdles this season to get where we are. We can’t shy away from the most important prize in front of us.”

The key, Metil said, will be handling the powerful attacks by Penn State’s cadre of blue-chip hitters. Towson prides itself on being a strong defensive team, and that will be tested by the Nittany Lions.

Metil is hoping his tournament-savvy roster and playing at a neutral site can level the floor.

“I think we need to be ready in our own head space,” he said. “Every point is going to be a battle for us.”

Between his coaching duties and travel concerns brought on by the pandemic, Metil has been back in the area only once in the past year-and-a-half. So no matter how the NCAA Tournament unfolds or how long he is here, he plans to enjoy every moment.

“It’s a tight schedule with all involved with preparing to play,” he said. “Pending the outcome Friday, we’ll see how much free time we have. Any opportunity to see (family and friends) and just have a little side banter or chat would be good enough for me.”