The William and Mary volleyball team honored seniors Monika Stanciauskas (Wheaton, Ill.) and Liz Brown (Ellicott City, Md.) Saturday night, then took a tough Delaware squad to the brink before falling 3-0 in the final home match of the season.  The Tribe is now 2-12 in the CAA and 6-23 overall with two games left, while the Blue Hens improved to 14-15, 7-7 in the league.

The top performer on the night was junior Mallory Brickerd (Ashburn, Va.), who led all players with 14 kills to go with a block.  Senior Liz Brown had nine kills, and junior Dessi Koleva (Torrance, Calif.) added eight kills along with three blocks, an ace, and a team-best 17 digs.  Freshmen Sydney Biniak (Elkridge, Md.) and Paige Humphrey (Oak Hill, Va.) were also strong offensively, with seven kills and three blocks for Biniak, and five kills, two blocks, and an ace for Humphrey.

Also of note, junior Carolyn Albright (Raleigh, N.C.) had a team-high five blocks, a total that ranked second among all players.  Redshirt-sophomore Jenna Strange (Leesburg, Va.) had her second-straight outing with double-digit digs, providing 10, and freshman Sara Zumbach (Franklin, Tenn.) chipped in 11 more digs.  Three players saw time at setter, led by Stephanie Paul (North Bethesda, Md.) who had seven assists in her one set.  Freshman Austyn Ames (Wichita, Kan.) played the last two sets in her place, coming up with 13 assists, and sophomore Gabrielle Pe (Virginia Beach, Va.) played all three frames with 18 assists and five digs.

Delaware took the first set 25-18, behind a pair of long runs that opened a lead as wide as 10, at 22-12 to force a W&M timeout.  The pause was perfectly timed, and coming out of the break Koleva knocked in a kill that sparked a 6-2 run for the Tribe.  The streak also saw a pair of blocks, with Biniak partnering first with Albright and then Humphrey, as well as two kills by Brickerd and another by Humphrey.  The Tribe fought off three set points before the Blue Hens were finally able to gain the winning point.

The second set went by a similar score, 25-19, but a very dissimilar method as there were no major runs.  Instead, Delaware was able to pull away slowly with two- and three-point runs to single points for W&M.  The third set saw the Blue Hens again pull out to a big lead, in front 18-11 after its final ace of the night.  Biniak spiraled in a kill on the next point, embarking the Tribe on a 9-2 run that tied the set at 20-20.  The run saw two more kills by both Brickerd and Biniak, as well as two blocks by Albright (alongside Biniak on one and Brickerd on the other).  After the first tie, Delaware scored twice, a lead that was erased by kills by Brickerd and Brown to bring the score back even at 22-22.  Another quick exchange of points lifted the score to 23-23, before the visitors scored the final two points and took the match.

William and Mary is back on the road next weekend, heading north.  The Tribe will play at Northeastern on Friday night, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m., before going to Hofstra on Sunday at 1 p.m. in the final match of the season.