The William and Mary volleyball team took a tough road loss at Delaware Friday night, falling 3-0 in its first road match in three weeks.  The Tribe is now 5-14 overall and 1-4 in the CAA. while the Blue Hens improved to 9-11 on the year, and 2-3 in conference play.

Box Score

Senior Liz Brown (Ellicott City, Md.) had her finest outing of the season, leading W&M with nine kills and also adding in two blocks.  She was matched in kills by Michelle Heath (Rustburg, Va.), who also had a block of her own and six digs.  Junior Mallory Brickerd (Ashburn, Va.) made seven kills on a .300 attack, and junior Dessi Koleva (Torrance, Calif.) had her double-double streak snapped with six kills, three blocks, three digs, and a service ace.

Also of note, junior Carolyn Albright (Raleigh, N.C.) hit .800 with four kills and three blocks, and freshman Paige Humphrey (Oak Hill, Va.) came off the bench to provide a match-high four blocks.  Her classmate Sara Zumbach (Franklin, Tenn.) led all players with 13 digs, and rookie setter Austyn Ames (Wichita, Kan.) nearly had a double-double with 19 assists and nine digs to go with an ace.  Rounding out the notables was sophomore Stephanie Paul (North Bethesda, Md.), who had 11 assists, three digs, and an ace.

The story of all three sets had the Blue Hens getting in front early, and forcing the Tribe to play catch-up.  After Delaware took the first, 25-16, and got out in front of the second at 16-11, W&M began responding in earnest.  A kill by Heath started the comeback, a 5-1 run that closed the gap to one at 17-16, and just a few points later, Albright delivered a kill to knot the set at 18-18.  Three errors put Delaware back up and forced a timeout, but the Tribe came out of the break re-focused and closed to within one again at 22-21, on a kill by Brickerd, block from Humphrey and Koleva, and an ace by Koleva.  The Blue Hens were able to finish the set on three points, however, and went into the lockers ahead 2-0 after the 25-21 win.

The third set was very closely played throughout, with the biggest lead for Delaware coming at 15-11 after three aces over the previous seven points.  Once again, a timeout settled the nerves and Heath put up two quick kills to spark a run.  That was followed by a block from Brown and Humphrey, and a Delaware miscue tied the set at 15-15.  W&M would force another tie at 16-16 thanks to another kill by Heath, but the Blue Hens pushed past from there, winning the match 25-18.

William and Mary stays on the road for another match tomorrow night, playing at Towson at 7 p.m.