WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary volleyball team limited Hampton Roads rival Norfolk State to a .051 attack percentage to earn a 3-0 (14-25, 11-25, 16-25) sweep on Tuesday evening in Kaplan Arena. Freshman
Julia Brown played a critical role in the defensive effort as she registered nine total blocks, which ties third in school history in three set contest, to lead the Tribe (3-17) in the dismantling of the Spartans (3-15).
W&M dominated the match from start to and finish and claimed the first two sets by a double-digit margin. In game one, the Tribe produced its best offensive effort with 15 kills in 30 attempts with only four errors, generating a .367 hitting efficacy. The Tribe maintained its aggression in the second set and pulled away early behind an 11-3 start.
During the third set, W&M led from wire-to-wire as NSU was unable to force a lead change or tie. A 5-1 rally allowed the Spartans to narrow the margin to 10-9 at the mid-point, but the Tribe scored five unanswered points to regain control of the stanza. W&M led by as many as 11 points in the final frame to secure the sweep.
Inside the Number
- A tandem of senior
Sydney Biniak and Brown paced the Tribe with a match-high eight kills each.
- Biniak generated the majority of her offense in the first set with six kills during the frame. The Elkridge, Md., native also finished with an outstanding .538 attack percentage, committing just one error in 13 swings.
- Rookie
Kate Dedrick need only 10 touches to total seven kills with just one misfire (.600 attack percentage).
- Both junior
Katie Kemp and sophomore
Autumn Brenner led all players with 14 assists apiece.
- Sophomore
Casey Foote tallied a match-high nine digs, while senior
Sara Zumbach factored in on seven more.
- The Tribe committed a season-low 10 errors, while also holding the Spartans to just 31 total points.
- W&M held a 4-to-2 edge in aces and out blocked NSU 9-to-6.
Notes
W&M improves its all-time series lead over NSU to 14-1, including a perfect record of 8-0 in Kaplan Arena. Furthermore, the Tribe is now 54-8 all-time against MEAC opponents…Brenner ranks second in school history in the 25-point scoring system with 1,253 career assists…Biniak needs 39 kills to reach 1,000 on her career…Brown earned a pair of solo stops in back-to-back matches…It's the third straight match the Tribe totaled at least eight blocks.
Up Next
The Tribe returns to conference play with a pair of matches against CAA foes UNCW and the College of Charleston this weekend. W&M takes on the Seahawks during its annual Dig Pink match on Friday, Oct. 13 (7 PM), before concluding its homestead versus the Cougars on Sunday, Oct. 15 (1 PM).
