WILLIAMSBURG - The William and Mary volleyball team got back in the win column Friday night, sweeping UNC Wilmington 3-0 in Kaplan Arena on Homecoming. The Tribe improves to 9-11 overall and 3-5 in the Colonial Athletic Association, while the Seahawks fall to 7-16, 1-7 in conference play.

Box Score

Senior Cassie Crumal (Castle Rock, Colo.) set the pace for the offense in more ways than one on the night, dishing out 34 assists and hitting .429 with four kills, one of which was the match-winner. She also had four digs, an ace, and a pair of blocks. Classmate Ginny Bray (Cary, N.C.) had seven kills and a match-high six blocks, two of them solo, to total 11 points on the night. She now stands just one point shy of 1,000 in her career. Rounding out the senior class was Erin Skipper (Yorktown, Va.), who led the Tribe with nine kills and added six blocks.

The freshman class also represented well on their first Homecoming, as Julia Swalchick (Melbourne, Fla.) hit .375 with seven kills, and added five digs on the night. Classmate Celine Alasomuka (Centreville, Va.) had 11 digs, an ace, and an assist in the libero's spot. Also notable was junior Anne Dorff (Kent, Ohio) hitting five kills and adding two blocks, and sophomore Gina Lang (Valparaiso, Ind.) coming on in the second set to total five kills, five digs, and a pair of blocks.

W&M patiently built its lead in the first set on a series of two- and three-point streaks, and was very much in control of the set from the ace that Lindsay Kresch (Moon Township, Pa.) served out on the very first point. With the Tribe up three at 17-14, Swalchick knocked down her second kill of the night and went on serve as the Tribe scored five in a row to break open the set. Bray had one of her seven kills in the run, and also had a solo block and shared a block with Kresch to put W&M in front 22-14. UNCW scored two more kills before the whistle, but also had a pair of unforced miscues to put the College at set point, where Skipper and Dorff combined for a block to end the period at 25-16.

The second set was almost a perfect copy of the first, with the home team inexorably building out its leading. The Seahawks threatened to make things interesting at 14-13, but again it was Swalchick with a kill to give herself the serve and W&M a 6-0 run. Bray again proved the beneficiary of the freshman's serving, scoring three kills and pairing with Lang for a block in the run. UNC Wilmington scored a kill to regain serve, but immediate kills from Lang and Skipper and another Seahawk error put the Tribe within two at 23-14, and Dorff would finish things off at 25-16.

Coming out of the intermission, it was the Tribe's turn to play chase, going down as many as five early on a Seahawks ace that made the score 7-12. Lang scored the next point on a feed from Crumal to begin turning things around, starting a 5-1 run for the Green and Gold. The streak was capped off by a block from Bray and Crumal that sent UNCW scrambling for a timeout, and brought the Tribe within one at 12-13. The drama would stretch for a few more points, before Skipper tied the set at 16-16. A serving error gave the lead back to the visitors, but successive kills from Dorff and Skipper gave W&M it's first lead since 2-1 at 18-17. The seahawks would tie things back up at 18-, 19-, and 21-all, but control had passed permanently to the Tribe. As the rallies grew more frenzied and set-plays began to be scrapped, Crumal went on a run of scoring, providing three of the Tribe's final four kills including the capper on a feed from Dorff.

William and Mary is back in action tomorrow night at 7 p.m., hosting Georgia State (10-12, 4-4 CAA) as both squads remain very much in contention for CAA Tournament bids.