Behind a historic rain of service aces, the William & Mary volleyball team swamped Northeastern under in a marathon 3-1 victory Friday night at Kaplan Arena.  The Tribe improved to 10-18 overall and 4-11 in the Colonial Athletic Association, while Northeastern was eliminated from tournament contention at 6-24, 3-11 in league play.

William & Mary served up 13 aces on the night, tied for the 15th-most ever in a single match and the most for W&M since another 13 against Kennesaw State in 2011.  The last time the Tribe had more than 13 aces in a match was all the way back in 2004 (18 against Norfolk State).  That total helped lead the Tribe players to setting or tying seven career marks, including senior Dessi Koleva (Torrance, Calif.), who had a lifetime-best five aces.  Her five service points were the most for any player since former teammate Celine Alasomuka '14 had five against George Mason in 2011.  Koleva also had another double-double, scoring 18 kills and 18 digs while hitting .325 for the match.

Freshman Katie Kemp (Brentwood, Tenn.) also set a career-high in aces, with four, and matched Koleva with a double-double of her own, 21 assists and 10 digs (another career-best).  Fellow setter Austyn Ames (Wichita, Kan.) just missed out on the doubling, with 23 assists, nine digs, and a further three aces.  Freshman Heather Pippus (Lake Oswego, Ore.) had the Tribe's last ace, along with nine kills, 13 digs, and a pair of blocks.  Redshirt-junior Michelle Heath (Rustburg, Va.) had another nine kills, and sophomore Sydney Biniak (Elkridge, Md.) had 12 kills, three digs, and a pair of blocks.

On the defensive side of the net, senior Carolyn Albright (Raleigh, N.C.) tied her career-high with three solo blocks, part of a six-block night overall, and also had five kills.  Her three solo blocks are tied for 16th-most ever in a single match for a Tribe player, and she's one of just six players ever to have three or more matches with 3+ solo blocks.  Sophomore Paige Humphrey (Oak Hill, Va.) also tied her lifetime-best with two solo blocks, part of four blocks total and another four kills.  Classmate Sara Zumbach (Franklin, Tenn.) rounded out the notables with a match-high 21 digs.

After the first few points of the night, one might have thought it was going to be all Northeastern as the Huskies jumped out to a 4-1 lead.  The Tribe never losts its composure, however, and after Kemps' first ace tied the set at 4-4, Albright and Koleva combined for a block and the lead that W&M would never relinquish.  The Tribe just kept patiently stretching its lead, out as many as five a couple times starting at 19-14, and then for the last time at 22-17 on a kill by Biniak.  That forced the visitors into their final timeout, but the rattled Huskies committed two errors out of the break and Biniak closed the door again at 25-17.

The second set was a series of runs back and forth, and it was Northeastern's turn to be up five late at 20-15.  Out of the timeout, the Huskies misfired again, and two successive blocks and two Koleva aces tied the set at 21-21.  The Tribe's 5-0 run extended to 7-0 on a Pippus kill, and W&M was ahead 23-21.  However, that wheel spun again, and NU finished the set on a 4-0 run of its own to tie the match 1-1.  Kemp and Koleva each had three aces in the second set alone, and Pippus had her only ace, while the Huskies added three more on their side to keep the crowd entertained.

The third set was a little combination of each of the first two sets, with runs and the Tribe getting out in front.  That didn't happen before Northeastern made a move of its own, swinging a 14-11 Tribe lead into an 18-15 edge for the visitors.  The Huskies were unable to hold the momentum, however, serving out of bounds to give the serve back to W&M, where Biniak made a pair of kills to tie the set, and an ace by Ames forced Northeastern to take its final timeout.  The carnage continued after the break with an unforced error and another ace by Ames put the Tirbe up 21-18.  Biniak stretched the lead to four twice with kills, at 23-19 and 24-20, before Humphrey put the exclamation point on the win at 25-20.

The fourth and final set was a true marathon, stretching 18 points past regulation.  The fun started with W&M down by five at 18-13, before a Northeastern error ignited a 9-1 Tribe run.  Ames had her third and final ace in the scoring jag, and a kill by Koleva gave the Tribe its first lead of the set at 20-19 and forced the visitors to take their final timeout.  Another kill from the senior at 22-19 and at 23-20 gave the Green and Gold its largest leads of the set, but in the fest-or-famine world of volleyball, three-straight attack errors for Koleva also gave Northeastern set point at 24-23.  Undaunted by her recent misses, Koleva fought off the first point with another kill, and began the chase for the victory.  The Tribe fought off a total of six set points, and had three of its own cancelled, before a kill from Koleva tied the score at 32-32.  The big senior then scored another for match point number four, 33-32, and put the match away on final swing, 34-32.  Koleva had an unfathomable 13 kills in the fourth set alone, five of them coming at 24-23 or later in the set, and scored each of the Tribe's last four points in the match.

With the win, William & Mary is tied with Delaware for the sixth and final spot in the CAA Tournament, and owns the tiebreaker over both the Blue Hens and Northeastern (who is one game back with one to play).  So long as W&M matches or betters Delaware in Sunday's results, the Tribe will advance to its 25th CAA Tournament next weekend.  W&M's opponent Sunday in the regular season finale is Hofstra, who will come to Kaplan Arena at 2 p.m.  Before the match, the team will take a moment to honor and thanks the six members of the senior class.