The William and Mary volleyball team took Gardner-Webb into extra points in the fourth set, trying to force a fifth set, but fell in a very tightly-played match 3-1 on Friday afternoon.  The Tribe is now 1-3 on the year, while the Bulldogs improved to 2-3.  This was the first of four matches on the weekend for W&M at the Cal State-Fullerton Invitational.

Box Score

W&M had a pair of impressive career-best performances lead the way on Friday, with redshirt-junior Paulette Grand Pre (Laguna Beach, Va.) making the start at libero and responding with 29 digs.  Junior Liz Brown (Ellicott City, Md.) came on strong off the bench, scoring a match-best 20 kills while hitting .292 and adding three blocks.  Sophomore Mallory Brickerd (Ashburn, Va.) also hit very well, .243 with 11 kills, and classmate Dessi Koleva (Torrance, Calif.) had a double-double with 13 kills, 11 digs, and both of the Tribe's service aces.

Also of note on the day, senior Celine Alasomuka (Centreville, Va.) had 14 digs to continue her strong start to the year.  Sophomore Carolyn Albright (Raleigh, N.C.) had five blocks, including two solo efforts, and redshirt-junior Monika Stanciauskas (Wheaton, Ill.) add four more blocks.  Freshman Paige Lucas (Asheboro, N.C.) once again earned the start at setter, dishing out 30 assists to go with five digs and two blocks.

After falling in the first set, 25-20, the Tribe came back with a vengeance in the second.  W&M used a 12-2 run to break open the set early, and rolled on the way to a 25-16 win.  The third set was a tight 25-22 affair that went to Gardner-Webb, and in the fourth, the Tribe fought off three match-points as they tried to force a fifth set before a final attack sailed just long, giving the Bulldogs the set 27-25 and the match, 3-1.