The William & Mary volleyball team came up with a big road win in conference play Sunday, beating Delaware 3-1 for its first season-sweep of the Blue Hens since 2005. The Tribe improved to 9-16 overall and 3-9 in the CAA with the win, while Delaware fell to 12-13 (4-8 CAA).
The Tribe hit .349 or better in all three sets it won Sunday, with four players all reaching double-digit kills. Two of them earned double-doubles, including freshman
Heather Pippus (Lake Oswego, Ore.) who had 13 kills, 11 digs, and four blocks. Senior
Dessi Koleva (Torrance, Calif.) also had 13 kills, pairing them with 18 digs and a pair of blocks.
Redshirt-junior
Michelle Heath (Rustburg, Va.) had a season-high 13 kills while hitting a team-best .355 and a block, and sophomore
Sydney Biniak (Elkridge, Md.) made it four with 13 kills, matching hers with another block and eight digs. The setting triumvirate made all those kills happen, with
Austyn Ames (Wichita, Kan.) making 23 assists and 14 digs along with an ace, while freshman
Katie Kemp (Brentwood, Tenn.) had 16 assists and
Gabrielle Pe (Virginia Beach, Va.) seven assists with seven digs.
Also of note, senior
Carolyn Albright (Raleigh, N.C.) had seven kills and four blocks, and sophomore
Paige Humphrey (Oak Hill, Va.) had five kills and a match-high five blocks. Sophomore
Sara Zumbach (Franklin, Tenn.) rounded out the line-up with 22 digs, seven assists, and another ace.
In the first set, a kill by Pippus broke open a 9-9 tie, and sent the Tribe on an extended jag and out-scored the Blue Hens 15-4 over the finish of the set to win 25-13. Delaware returned the favor in the second with a 25-15 win, and tied the match 1-1 at the intermission.
In the third, the Tribe took a timeout trailing 19-18, and out of the break, kills by Koleva and then by Albright earned ties at 19-19 and 20-20. The second then gave serve to Zumbach, who dished out an ace for the lead, and the Blue Hens had a key miscue coming out of the next timeout as well. Pippus then finished off the 25-21 win with three straight kills from her classmate Kemp. The fourth saw the tightest match of the night, with Delaware fending off two match-points to forge a tie at 24-24. Biniak put the team on her back, and smashed the last two kills to win the set 26-24 and the match.
William & Mary continues its road swing next weekend, playing at UNCW on Friday night, Nov. 6, and at the College of Charleston on Saturday night. Both matches will be played at 7 p.m.
