The William and Mary volleyball team put up a strong fight, but UNCW was able to pull out the 3-1 win Saturday night at Kaplan Arena.  The Tribe is now 11-10 overall and 3-4 in the Colonial Athletic Association, while the Seahawks improved to 8-14 and 1-6 in the league.

Box Score

Leading the way for W&M was freshman Dessi Koleva (Torrance, Calif.), who recording a double-double with 13 kills and 10 digs.  Koleva scored her kills while hitting .481 with no errors, and also had a pair of blocks.  Classmate Olivia Jebb (Cornwall, N.Y.) had her finest performance of the season, collecting a team-high 12 digs.  Sophomore Manon Murray (Greensboro, N.C.) had six kills, 11 digs, and three service aces, while redshirt-sophomore Paulette Grand Pre (Laguna Beach, Calif.) had 10 kills, four digs, and a pair of blocks.

Also of note, redshirt-freshman Liz Brown (Ellicott City, Md.) had eight kills on a .286 attack, and added two more blocks.  Freshman Carolyn Albright (Raleigh, N.C.) and senior Shaylin O'Connell (Leesburg, Va.) matched each other with four kills and four blocks apiece.  Senior Molly Krull (Raleigh, N.C.) had 25 assists, along with seven digs, one block, and one ace.  Sophomore Carolina Rivas (Orlando, Fla.) added in 19 assists, and six digs.  Rounding out the notables was redshirt-sophomore Devin Andrews-Lyssy (Santa Rosa, Calif.) had 10 more digs, and added three assists.

After UNCW took the first set, 25-17, the Tribe came out firing in the second, winning five of the first seven points.  The pace evened out from there, with the two teams trading points back and forth, until the Seahawks held a slim two-point lead at 17-15.  Dessi Koleva ended that run with a kill, and ignited an 8-2 run that included two more kills from Brown and was capped off by another kill from Koleva.  Ahead 23-19, the Tribe was able to withstand a late charge by the visitors before Brown and Albright finished things off with a final two points.

The third set saw a late charge from the Green and Gold, including kills form Grand Pre and Koleva and a block by the senior duo of Krull and O'Connell, before UNCW was able to claim a 25-22 win.  In the fourth set, it was the Seahawks mounting a late charge to break open a closely-held match, and they claimed the set and the match 25-22.

William and Mary is back in action next weekend, hosting two matches on Homecoming.  The Tribe will take on James Madison Friday night at 7 p.m., before hosting George Mason Sunday at 2 p.m. in Kaplan Arena.