The William and Mary volleyball team took the first set Saturday afternoon on the road at Virginia Tech, prevailing in extra points, before ultimately falling by a score 3-1.  The Tribe is now 3-6 on the season, while the Hokies improved to 9-1.

Box Score

The Tribe was led by sophomore Mallory Brickerd (Ashburn, Va.), who had 12 kills and seven digs to go with a solo block.  Classmate Carolyn Albright (Raleigh, N.C.) hit .444 with four kills and combined with freshman Paige Lucas (Asheboro, N.C.) on another block.  Lucas also had 21 assists, seven digs, and two aces.  Redshirt-freshman Michelle Heath (Rustburg, Va.) had five kills, four digs, and another solo block, and senior Celine Alasomuka (Centreville, Va.) had a team-high 16 digs.

In the first set, an errant serve had given Virginia Tech a 20-15 lead.  Brickerd responded with a kill to regain serve, and a kill by Lucas and ace from Albright cut the deficit to two, 20-18, and forced a timeout.  Brickerd continued to drive the Tribe back into contention, following each of the Hokies next two points with another kill, and W&M gained the lead finally at 23-22 on a block by freshman Kristen Larrick (Bethesda, Md.), forcing VT to call its second timeout.  Heath scored to gain the set point, but the Hokies were able to fight it and the next two off.  With the score knotted at 26-all, Brickerd got back into the hitting rotation, and pounded down kills on consecutive volleys to win the set 28-26.  Virginia Tech was able to recover and win the next three sets, however, showing why their only loss was to No. 14 Michigan State.

William and Mary is back in action this afternoon, playing Lipscomb at 5 p.m. in the final match of the Hokie Invitational.