The William and Mary volleyball team won its third match in a row thanks to a dominating attack Friday night against Elon, winning 3-1 on the first night of the Colonial Challenge. The Tribe improved to 6-5 on the year, while the Phoenix fell to 5-8.
Box Score
The Tribe's setters overcame a slow start and became increasingly dialed in with their passes over the course of the match, directing the attack to a .262 pace overall and an impressive .583 in the final set, all while averaging 13 kills per set. Sophomore Carolina Rivas (Orlando, Fla.) had 21 assists and nine digs during her half of the match, and senior captain Molly Krull (Raleigh, N.C.) added 14 assists, four digs and an ace while she was on the floor.
Through their able direction the College's hitters flourished with four players topping 10 points in the match and another two in 6-7 point range. Leading the way was senior Shaylin O'Connell (Leesburg, Va.), who had a match-high 11 kills on a .318 attack, and also tied for the match-best with five blocks. Close behind was redshirt-sophomore Paulette Grand Pre (Laguna Beach, Calif.), with 10 kills, seven digs, and two each of aces and blocks. Freshman middle Carolyn Albright (Raleigh, N.C.) had eight kills and no errors on the night for a .571 attack, and matched O'Connell with five blocks. Sophomore Manon Murray (Greensboro, N.C.) also had eight kills, to go along with two blocks and a match-high 17 digs.
Junior captain Alexandra Ciaccio (Houston, Texas) had her best match of the season so far with six kills on a .556 attack, and chipped in on a pair of blocks as well. Freshman Dessi Koleva (Torrance, Calif.) rounded out the offensive notables with five kills, three digs, and three blocks. On the defensive side of the net, libero Devin Andrews-Lyssy (Santa Rosa, Calif.) had 10 digs and five assists, while junior Celine Alasomuka (Centreville, Va.) had eight digs, five assists, and a service ace.
The first set went to the visitors, after Elon was able to jump out to a five-point lead at 17-12 midway through the set. W&M was able to climb back into contention and even managed ties at 21- and 22-all, but two blocks gave the Phoenix the momentum they needed to carry on to a 25-23 victory. Their moment of triumph was short-lived, however, as the Tribe put on a clinic in the second set and cruised on to victory.
The College jumped out to an early lead in the second with a 9-1 run that saw points scored nearly every possible way: kills, blocks, aces, and unforced errors. Elon tried to get something going of their own after a timeout, but another 6-1 run put W&M up by nine, 18-9, and the writing was on the wall. The Tribe finished the set on a 7-2 run, and went into the lockers at intermission with a 25-13 win.
In the third set W&M didn't put together another prolonged run but instead simply gutted out a 25-22 win, a performance made masterful by the calm, methodical, and workman-like response to every Elon point with another for the Green and Gold. The performance played well to the packed stands, who grew louder and more insistent as the set drew on, and finally finished with a huge block from Albright and Koleva to give the Tribe a 2-1 lead in the match.
Those fans continued to stay loud through the fourth, and the team responded in turn with kill after kill and block after block. The Tribe had 16 kills and only two errors in the set for an absurd .583 attack percentage, and also had three blocks. Even so, it wasn't until halfway through the set that the Tribe threw open the throttles, and came roaring back from an 11-9 deficit. Albright's kill ignited a 16-5 run to close the set that included a pair of blocks from O'Connell and Ciaccio, as well as three-straight kills by Ciaccio that forced Elon to burn its final timeout. The cumulative effect of the College's barrage wore through the visiting Phoenix, and after a final attack sailed well long and off the court, W&M captured the set 25-16 and secured the match.
The Colonial Challenge continues Saturday with four more matches beginning at 10 a.m. The Trbe will take on howard in that match, as well as facing Hampton at 7 p.m. tomorrow night. The Pirates were a 3-0 victor over the Bison in Friday's matinee game.
