The William & Mary volleyball team helped create one of the most thrilling matches of the 2015 CAA season on Saturday night, battling the College of Charleston across four sets, three of which were decided by the minimum of two points.  The Tribe is now 9-18 on the year, 3-14 in the Colonial Athletic Association, while the Cougars improved to 16-12 (8-6 CAA).

The Tribe had four players reach double-digit kills, thanks in large part to freshman setter Katie Kemp (Brentwood, Tenn.) who had a season-best 30 assists to go with six digs.  Sophomore Austyn Ames (Wichita, Kan.) had 10 more assists and five digs, and junior Gabrielle Pe (Virginia Beach, Va.) had eight helpers.

The main beneficiary of that setting was senior Dessi Koleva (Torrance, Calif.), who had 14 kills and 12 digs to go with four blocks and an ace.  Classmate Carolyn Albright (Raleigh, N.C.) had 10 kills and a team-best five blocks, moving into third all-time at W&M with 413 career blocks.  Sophomore Sydney Biniak (Elkridge, Md.) hit .318 with 10 more kills and an ace, and freshman Heather Pippus (Lake Oswego, Ore.) had another double-double with 10 kills, 15 digs, and two blocks.

Also of note, sophomore Paige Humphrey (Oak Hill, Va.) had three blocks to go with three kills, and redshirt-junior Michelle Heath (Rustburg, Va.) added two more blocks and four kills.  Sophomore Sara Zumbach (Franklin, Tenn.) rounded out the notables with 14 digs and an ace.

Down 8-4 in the first set, the Tribe flipped the script on Charleston and tied the match five times before a kill by Koleva put W&M on top 16-15.  The Green and Gold held onto the advantage for the next few points, before two Cougar kills gave the home team the lead again at 23-22.  Koleva and Humphrey stepped up right away with a block to re-knot the set at 23, and after Charleston gained set-point, the Cougars quailed at the moment and gave serve right back, 24-24.  It was then Albright's turn to step up with consecutive blocks to win the set, solo on the first one and teaming with Heath for the second.

Charleston came back with a vengeance in the second set, then the third set was close again with 13 ties and five lead changes.  Trailing 22-20 late, Pippus closed the gap to one and then was followed by Albright and Biniak in similar trade-offs to fend off one set point before the Cougars were able to close the set 25-23.  The fourth set seemed even more dire, with Charleston gaining match point at 24-21 on an ace.  The Tribe had no quit in them, however, as a kill by Heath and a Charleston error cancelled two of those match points and forced a timeout.  Pippus got her 10th kill out of the break, tying the set at 24-24, but the Cougars were able to get the last two kills for the win.

William & Mary returns home next weekend for the final weekend of the regular season, looking for two wins to gain a berth in the CAA Tournament.  The Tribe hosts Northeastern on Friday night, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m., before closing the season against Hofstra on Sunday at 1 p.m.