The William and Mary volleyball team put up several impressive numbers Tuesday night, but fell to VCU, 3-1.  The Tribe is now 7-17 overall, while the Rams improved to 20-5 on the season.

Box Score

Leading the way once again for the Tribe was sophomore Dessi Koleva (Torrance, Calif.), who appears to be picking up steam as the season enters the stretch run.  She had 14 kills, nine digs, and an ace Tuesday, and has averaged 4.20 kills per set over the last three matches.  Classmate Mallory Brickerd (Ashburn, Va.) had 11 kills on a .267 attack to go along with a hand in one block, and junior Liz Brown (Ellicott City, Md.) paired nine kills with four more blocks.

Also of note, sophomore Carolyn Albright (Raleigh, N.C.) broke out of her recent slump to lead all players on both teams with eight blocks.  Albright, who now has 94 stops on the season, also had six kills on the night, matching the total put up by redshirt-freshman Michelle Heath (Rustburg, Va.).  Heath also had five digs and helped out on two blocks.  Setting duties were shared by a pair of freshman, only one of whom was used to the position.  Stephanie Paul (North Bethesda, Md.) had 21 assists to go with six digs and a match-best two aces, while Gabrielle Pe (Virginia Beach, Va.) had a respectable 17 assists, eight digs, and an ace in her first turn as one of the Tribe's floor generals.  Senior Celine Alasomuka (Centreville, Va.) rounded out the notables, adding eight more digs to the defensive effort.

After the host Rams claimed the first two sets, 25-18 and 25-21, the Tribe came out on fire to start the third.  Albright and Brown combined for a stuff on the very first point and got together for another block a few points later, igniting a 9-4 run to start the set.  That cushion allowed W&M to withstand several VCU charges, including one that cut the lead to one at 15-14.  That would be as close as the Rams would get the rest of the way, however, as Brickerd hammered home a kill on the next point and sparked a 6-1 run that put the Tribe back up 21-15.  VCU tried to get something going again following a service error, but a kill by Albright disrupted the momentum and after a pair of attack errors, Koleva finished off the 25-19 win with her fourth kill of the set.

William and Mary remains on the road through Homecoming Weekend, traveling north to Towson and Delaware this weekend for matches on Friday and Saturday.  The Tribe will take on the Tigers Friday night at 7 p.m., before facing the Blue Hens Saturday also at 7 p.m.