The William and Mary volleyball team once again found itself in a fifth set, and once again powered through to victory this time over Northeastern, 3-2.  The Tribe improved to 10-17 overall with the win, and evened its Colonial Athletic Association mark at 5-5 with its third-straight league victory.  The Huskies fell to 14-9 overall, and 6-3 in conference action.

Box Score

The Tribe offense was slow getting started, with just 18 kills in consecutive 25-21 losses to start the match, but coming out of the intermission the engine caught, and the Huskies were inexorably left behind.  W&M's 25-23 win in the third set was thanks in large part to an 8-2 run in the middle of the frame that swung a three-point advantage in favor of the Tribe, and seven kills sprinkled throughout the set by sophomore Mallory Brickerd (Ashburn, Va.).  Redshirt-junior Monika Stanciauskas (Wheaton, Ill.) took only three swings, but connected on all of them including the winning point after Northeastern was threatening to tie the set at 24-24.

W&M was unchallenged in the fourth set, jumped out to a 7-1 lead quickly thanks to four kills in four attacks by sophomore Dessi Koleva (Torrance, Calif.).  Koleva would finish the set with six kills, matching the total from Brickerd, and the Tribe would never let the Huskies get closer than three points the rest of the way out to a 25-17 win.  Koleva had another six kills in the fifth and final set, helping the Tribe to a sparkling .455 attack (10 kills, no errors).  The two squads traded the first 10 points back and forth in turn, before W&M was able to get its nose out in front, 7-5 on a block from Stanciauskas and redshirt-freshman Michelle Heath (Rustburg, Va.).  Northeastern was able to rally and force ties at 7-7 and 8-8 again, but Heath made a strong attack that was followed up by Brickerd and Koleva, and W&M was off on another 6-1 run that reached match-point at 14-9.  The Huskies made one final attack, but it was wide of the stripe and the Tribe began celebrating its 10th win of the year.

For the match, Brickerd led all players with 18 kills, hitting .318 in the process with five digs and four blocks.  Koleva ranked second on the team and in the match with 16 total kills, and also smashed her career-best with 24 digs, an ace, and a block.  Stanciauskas hit .500 with four kills and no errors, and also provided a match-best seven blocks.  For her part, Heath had eight kills and 13 digs, and also chipped in on three blocks and a service ace.

Also of note, sophomore Carolyn Albright (Raleigh, N.C.) helped stuff up the net with five blocks, and had four kills and no errors on a .571 attack.  Senior Celine Alasomuka (Centreville, Va.) had 17 digs and four assists to rank second on the team defensively.  The Tribe's two freshmen setters once again played very well with a double-double each: Stephanie Paul (North Bethesda, Md.) with 18 assists, 12 digs, and two aces; and Gabrielle Pe (Virginia Beach, Va.) with 27 assists, 12 digs, and another ace.

William and Mary returns to the court Saturday night, hosting Hofstra at 7 p.m. in Kaplan Arena.