WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – After sweeping Hampton Roads rival Norfolk State on Tuesday, the William & Mary volleyball team jumps back into Colonial Athletic Association play with matches against UNCW and the College of Charleston this weekend. The Tribe will hold its annual Dig Pink Match against the Seahawks on Friday, Oct. 13 at 7 pm, before concluding its homestead with the Cougars on Sunday, Oct. 15 at 1 pm.
TribeAthletics.com caught up with head coach
Melissa Ferris to discuss the win over NSU and preview this weekend.The video feature is available through the above link or by clicking
here.
Scouting the Tribe
W&M (3-17, 0-6) seeks to put together a win streak after cruising past Norfolk State in straight sets on Tuesday night. Senior
Sydney Biniak and freshmen
Julia Brown and
Kate Dedrick have been responsible for the majority of the production in the previous two outings. Over the last eight sets played, Biniak totaled the most kills (24), Dedrick owned the best hitting efficiency (.361) and Brown led the charge in blocks (16). Additionally, junior
Katie Kemp and sophomore
Autumn Brenner combined to average 8.12 assists per set.
Scouting the Seahawks
UNCW (7-11, 1-5 CAA) is looking for its second conference win after splitting a pair at home last weekend. The Seahawks outlasted Delaware (10/6) in five sets, before dropping a four-set contest with Towson. UNCW is yet to fall in straight sets in conference play, forcing four games in five of the six. Redshirt junior Michaela White ranks fifth in the CAA in assists (5.89 per set), while junior Katie McCullough is fourth-best in the league in digs (4.12 per set).
Scouting the Cougars
Preseason favorite College of Charleston (16-4, 5-1 CAA) has reeled off a four-match winning streak to rank second-best in the league standings. The Cougars swept both Towson (10/6) and Delaware (10/8) last weekend in their home gymnasium. As a team, CofC stands second in the CAA in four statistical categories: hitting percentage (.256), assists per set (12.31), kills per set (14.34) and digs per set (16.77). Two-time CAA Offensive Player of the Week Krissy Mummey spotlights the Charleston roster with a .402 hitting percentage over the course of 391 attack attempts.
Dig Pink
The Tribe will hold its annual Dig Pink Match against CAA foe UNCW on Friday at 7 PM. As part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, W&M is partnering with The Side-Out Foundation and its Dig Pink initiative to raise funds and awareness on the deadly disease. The proceeds will go toward a clinical trial specifically for patients with stage 4 breast cancer, the most advanced form of the disease and the least funded area of research. Watch team captains Biniak,
Heather Pippus and
Sara Zumbach share their thoughts on the fundraiser by clicking
here.
Series History
- W&M and UNCW will meet for the 63
rd time in series history on Friday evening. The Tribe leads the all-time series by a wide margin of 50-12. The Green and Gold is also 22-5 against the Seahawks in Williamsburg. Last year, the Tribe split its pair of matches with UNCW, claiming a win in five sets at home.
- The Tribe will face off against CofC for the 10th time in a brief series history on Sunday afternoon. The Cougars own an 8-1 all-time series lead over the Tribe. W&M earned its first-ever win versus Charleston in four sets last year.
Last Timeout
- Tribe Volleyball limited Norfolk State to a .051 attack percentage to earn a 3-0 sweep on Tuesday evening.
- 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.
Block Party
The Tribe is rejecting attack attempts at an outstanding clip, averaging 2.82 blocks per set in its last three contests. Brown has been the life of the block party with a total of 19, including four solo stops, during the span. Her nine blocks against NSU ties third in program history in three set matches. In addition, rookie
Denisha Shaw recorded a season-high seven blocks at Hofstra (10/7)
Tidbits
- Brenner ranks second in school history in the 25-point scoring system with 1,253 career assists.
- Biniak is 39 kills away from reaching 1,000 on her career.
- Kemp needs two more service aces to rank top 10 all-time in the current scoring system.
- As a team, the Green and Gold manufactured its second-best hitting efficiency (.333) of the season against Norfolk State. Individually, Dedrick registered a season-best .600 attack percentage versus NSU.
- Brown's 11 solo blocks tie ninth in the 25-point single-season record books.
- UNCW has been unable to win a true road contest with a 0-6 away record.
