The William & Mary volleyball team did what very few teams have done this year, take a game off of South Carolina, before being edged in a nailbiter 3-1.  The Tribe moves to 5-7 overall, while the Gamecocks remain undefeated at 11-0 on the year.

The host school took the first two sets, 25-21 and 25-18, before the Tribe came roaring out of the intermission to win the third, 25-21.  That was just sixth set the Gamecocks had lost all season long.  The fourth set was closely fought all the way through, with South Carolina finally pulling ahead at the very end to claim the match with a 25-23 win.  The closeness of the match was evidenced in the fact that Tribe players posted match-highs in every category except aces.  Freshman Casey Foote (Prospect, Ky.) hit .308 with 16 kills, and junior Sydney Biniak (Elkridge, Md.) was right behind her with 14 kills and a .440 attack.

Freshman setter Autumn Brenner (McLean, Va.) shined once again with 42 assists to go with seven digs and three kills, and junior libero Sara Zumbach (Franklin, Tenn.) provided a match-high 16 digs on the defensive end.  The fourth category leader was junior Paige Humphrey (Oak Hill, Va.), who led all players with five blocks and also had eight kills while hitting .400.

Other notables included freshman Alex Stein (East Setauket, N.Y.), who matched Humphrey with eight kills and also had nine digs and two blocks, as well as classmate Samantha Conway (Mechanicsville, Va.), who had six digs and a service ace, her team-leading 17th of the season.  Senior Gabrielle Pe (Virginia Beach, Va.) rounded out the highlights with seven digs and another service ace.

William & Mary is back in action later this afternoon, taking on Davidson in the final game of the Gamecock Invitational and the non-conference season.