The William & Mary volleyball team swept Coppin State 3-0 on Saturday night in the final match of the Colonial Classic, winning the tournament with a perfect 3-0 record at Kaplan Arena.  With the win, the Tribe improved to 4-5 overall, while the Eagles fell to 0-11 on the year.  Charlotte (2-1) finished second in the tournament and Western Carolina (1-2) was third.

""I am very happy with our play overall and think we became more confident this weekend," said coach Melissa Ferris.  "I felt like we played our style of volleyball and stayed focused throughout the match.  Everyone had the opportunity to contribute to our wins this tournament, and I'm very happy about that.  This team is good not because of just six or eight people, but because of all 15 of them.  They've ALL worked hard and sacrificed to get where we are, and I'm really impressed with how well everyone played.  This was a good win for us and a great tournament for Tribe volleyball."

"I also want to thank all the fans for their support!  It means a lot to all of us, and made being home even sweeter."

Earning MVP honors for her outstanding play all weekend was Tribe freshman Casey Foote (Prospect, Ky.), who led all players in the tournament with 4.5 points per set and 4.1 kills per set, while also ranking seventh in digs (3.6 per set) and 10th in aces with 0.3 per set.  Joining Foote on the all-tournament team where sophomore Katie Primatic (Pittstown, N.J.) and freshman Autumn Brenner (McLean, Va.).  Primatic hit .552 for the weekend with 17 kills against just one error, and was the top-rated attacker out of all four teams (by more than 200 percentage points).  She also ranked seventh in blocks, with 0.75 per set.  Brenner, meanwhile, was spectacular as the Tribe's floor general with 12.0 assists per set, nearly double the next setter in the table.  She also tied for second overall with 0.5 aces per set, and was sixth in blocks with 0.88 per set.

In Saturday night's match-up with Coppin State, Foote led the way with her second double-double of the weekend, scoring 12 kills on a .355 attack to go with 10 digs, an ace, and a block.  Junior Sydney Biniak (Elkridge, Md.), who also played spectacularly all weekend long (4.2 points, 3.7 kills, 0.9 blocks per set), was close behind with 10 kills and three blocks, and her classmate Paige Humphrey (Oak Hill, Va.) added in six kills on a .312 attack, and a match-high four blocks.

Also notable was the play of Brenner, who dished out 21 assists, five digs, two blocks, two kills, and an ace while playing just two sets.  Junior Austyn Ames (Wichita, Kan.) took over the setting duties for the final set, and posted 13 more assists with four digs.  Along the back line, junior Sara Zumbach (Franklin, Tenn.) had a match-best 16 digs, while freshman Samantha Conway (Mechanicsville, Va.) had 13 digs and a season-high three aces.  Senior Gabrielle Pe (Virginia Beach, Va.) rounded out the defensive line-up, making seven digs and another service ace.

The Tribe gained power and momentum as the night moved along, improving from a 25-19 win in the first set to 25-14 in the second.  Coppin State made a small charge in the start of the third, going up 3-0, but W&M answered right back and with authority, scoring 20 of the next 23 points to put the match out of reach en route to a 25-9 win.

William & Mary will finish out its four-match homestand next Tuesday, Sept. 13, hosting VCU at 7 p.m.  The game has been designated "Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer" night.  The event raises both awareness and funds for the Go4theGoal Foundation and its campaign against pediatric cancers, the #1 disease killer of children.  Since the first event in 2011, over a quarter-million athletes have participated in Lace Up events.  The Tribe's goal for Tuesday is raise at least $500 as a team - to help or to find out more, please visit https://donate.go4thegoal.org/fundraise?fcid=755737.