The William & Mary volleyball team starts the second half of the Colonial Athletic Association schedule on the road, with a pair of late-week match-ups at league-leaders James Madison and Towson.  The Tribe will play in Harrisonburg against the Dukes at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 22, before continuing on to Towson on Saturday at 5 p.m.

Scouting the Tribe
W&M is 8-13 on the year and 2-6 in the CAA at the mid-point of the schedule.  Senior leadership is a big factor for the Tribe, with Dessi Koleva (Torrance, Calif.) averaging 2.46 kills and 3.12 digs per set, and Carolyn Albright (Raleigh, N.C.) hitting .299 with 0.88 blocks per set.  Five players are all averaging at least one ace per five sets, led by junior Gabrielle Pe (Virginia Beach, Va.) at 0.27 aces per set.

Scouting the Dukes
JMU is 18-3 overall and leading the CAA at a perfect 8-0.  Janey Goodman is a terror at the net with 4.19 kills per set and 0.81 blocks per set, while Taylor Austin cleans up the defensive end with 4.95 digs per set.  Hannah Radhi is the top blocker at 1.12 per set, and Bryn Recker has 0.43 aces per set.

Scouting the Tigers
Towson enters the week at 19-3 overall and 6-2 in CAA play, and will play two matches before meeting W&M on Saturday night.  Jocelyn Kuilan and Haley Pa'akaula lead the offense at 3.53 and 3.30 kills per set, respectively, while on defense honors go to Lindsay Flaherty with 0.86 blocks per set and Anna Holehouse at 4.72 digs per set.

The Series
- The Tribe holds a slim 44-42 edge in the all-time series against JMU, and is looking for its first win since 2012.  Earlier this month, W&M and the Dukes battled to a 3-2 decision in Williamsburg.

- W&M is 17-16 all-time against Towson, including 7-5 in Maryland.  The Tigers have won three in a row in the series, including 3-1 earlier this season in Williamsburg.

News and Notes
- Heather Pippus (Lake Oswego, Ore.) was named the CAA Rookie of the Week on Oct. 20, after leading the Tribe to a 1-1 record against Delaware and Elon.  She averaged 3.71 kills and 0.71 aces per set on the week against the two CAA foes.  Against Elon, she had 19 kills, nine digs, and two aces, the most kills for a Tribe freshman since 2011.

- Albright is now just seven blocks away from 400 in her career, a mark only three other players in school history have ever met.  Beth Ann Hull '89 was the first to accomplish that feat, with 409 blocks, then was surpassed by Anna Agbe-Davies '93 with 547 (still the record).  In recent years, only Caitlin Geraghty '06 has reached 400, making 482 stops in her career.

- Against JMU at home, Koleva became the third player in school history with 1,000+ kills and 1,000+ digs in her career, joining Hall-of-Famers Heidi Erpelding '89 and Jennifer Torns '92 as the only players in school history with the "double-quadruple."  Koleva is also just the ninth player ever to surpass 1,000 kills, and the first since Erin Skipper '11.

- Koleva was named to the all-tournament team at the AU Eagle Invitational, her third all-tournament honor in four events this season.

- At the ECU Pirate Invitational, both Koleva and Pippus earned all-tournament honors.

- Mallory Brickerd (Ashburn, Va.) was named to the all-tournament team at Army, after leading W&M in kills, aces, and points on the weekend.

- Over the weekend at Army, Koleva became the eighth player in school history with 1,000+ digs in her career.

- After the season opening victory at the Tribe Invitational, W&M has now won five of its last eight home tournaments.

- Sara Zumbach (Franklin, Tenn.) was named the MVP of the Tribe Invitational, while Koleva and Albright also joined her on the all-tournament team.

- W&M leads the CAA in returning all-conference players with three; Koleva, Michelle Heath (Rustburg, Va.), and Zumbach.

- Coach Shelton is just five wins away from 100 at W&M.  She was also the head coach at Virginia for 13 years, amassing 235 wins there.