The William & Mary volleyball team began the Gamecock Invitational on Friday night with an efficient 3-0 sweep of Gardner-Webb, clearing the court in just over an hour.  The Tribe improved to 5-6 on the year, while the Bulldogs fell to 7-4.

"This team came out focused and determined to play Tribe volleyball," said head coach Melissa Ferris.  "Offensively, Autumn [Brenner] distributed the ball really well and ran a great offense.  Our defense and blocking were very disciplined and we made the game look easy tonight.  Overall, this was a great team effort and I'm proud of how we bounced back after Tuesday's loss."

That discipline was evident throughout the night, as W&M hit a season-high .376 against just seven total errors.  Freshman setter Autumn Brenner (McLean, Va.) was a big part of that, making 33 assists with six digs, three blocks, and an ace.  The main beneficiaries of her largesse were once again the pair of Casey Foote (Prospect, Ky.) and Sydney Biniak (Elkridge, Md.).  Foote had 10 kills on a .333 attack with two aces, two digs, and a block; while Biniak had a match-high 11 kills on a .348 attack.

Sophomore Katie Primatic (Pittstown, N.J.) paired five kills and a match-best five blocks while hitting .714, and freshman Alex Stein (East Setauket, N.Y.) hit .412 with eight kills and a pair of blocks.  Other notables included junior Paige Humphrey (Oak Hill, Va.) with four blocks, and freshman Samantha Conway (Mechanicsville, Va.), who made 11 digs, four kills on a .667 attack, and a pair of aces.  Junior Sara Zumbach (Franklin, Tenn.) rounded out the team effort with 13 digs, best among all players.

William & Mary is back at it tomorrow with a pair of matches.  The Tribe plays host South Carolina at 1 p.m., and will finish the weekend Saturday evening at 4 p.m. against Davidson.