WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary volleyball team begins the second half of Colonial Athletic Association play with trips to Delaware and Towson this weekend. The Tribe squares off against the Blue Hens on Friday, Oct. 20, at 6:30 pm, before facing the Tigers on Sunday, Oct. 22 at 1 pm. Video and live stats links are available on the schedule page at TribeAthletics.com.
TribeAthletics.com caught up with head coach
Melissa Ferris to discuss last week's effort and preview the weekend.The video feature is available through the above link or by clicking
here.
Scouting the Tribe
W&M (4-18, 1-7 CAA) took big steps forward last week after finishing its three-match homestead with a 2-1 mark. During the stretch, the Tribe recorded a dominating win over Norfolk State, claimed its first CAA victory in gritty fashion against UNCW and went four sets with the conference's second-best College of Charleston. The top performers from the big week include senior captains
Sydney Biniak and
Sara Zumbach and rookie
Julia Brown. Biniak collected 45 kills (4.09 per set) and hit .344, while Zumbach paced the back row with 45 digs (4.09 per set). Brown continues to elevate her game as she totaled 22 blocks (2.00 per set) and 22 kills on a .326 attack percentage.
Scouting the Blue Hens
Delaware (3-15, 1-7 CAA) is looking for its second conference win after dropping its previous seven matches. Last week, the Blue Hens suffered a four-set home loss to Towson (10/11), before falling in straight sets at James Madison (10/13). Sophomore Maria Bellinger and junior Abby Skryd are responsible for majority of the offensive production. Bellinger is second-best in the CAA in kills (4.16 per set), while Skryd ranks fifth in assists (5.96 per set).
Scouting the Tigers
Towson (19-3, 5-3 CAA) enters phase two of CAA play riding a three-match winning streak. The Tigers concluded a four-match road swing with a pair of four-set victories over Delaware (10/11) and James Madison (10/15). Reigning offensive player of the week Julymar Otero led the Tigers with a double-double and her third triple-double of the season last week. Otero accumulated 20 kills, 53 assists and 28 digs to help TU tie for third place in the league standings.
Series History
- W&M and Delaware will square off for the 39
th time in series history on Friday evening. The Blue Hens improved its all-time series lead to 24-14 following a five-set win in the first meeting of the year on Sept. 21. During the last timeout, Biniak crushed 21 kills and Brown and
Heather Pippus tallied 13 apiece. The previous two contest between the programs have both gone five sets.
- The Tribe takes on Towson for the 38
th time series history on Sunday afternoon. TU swept the Tribe for the third time in a row on Sept. 24 to hold a 20-17 all-time series edge.
Weekly Award
Brown garnered the Tribe's first weekly honor of the season as she was named CAA Rookie of the Week, announced by the conference office on Monday. Brown was a dominant force at the net last week as she totaled at least six blocks in all three matches. The Geneva, Illi., native recorded a season-best nine stops, which ties third in program history in three set contest, to lead W&M to a sweep of Norfolk State. The middle hitter went on to record six kills and six blocks in a four-set win over UNCW, before capping the week with eight kills, a .500 attack percentage and seven blocks versus the College of Charleston.
Biniak Attack
Biniak is just two shy of becoming the 10
th player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills. The Elkridge, Md., native is experiencing a phenomenal senior campaign that has allowed her to place high in the program record books. She tied eighth in school history with a career-best 29 kills against USC Upstate (9/9) and her .591 attack percentage versus Savannah State stands 13th-best in single-match history. Biniak tallied 10-plus kills in 13 consecutive matches to tie
Erin Skipper '10 for the longest double-digit kill streak in the current scoring era. Furthermore, her 316 kills so far this year ranks fourth in the 25-point scoring format.
Getting to Know Dedrick
TribeAthletics.com sat down with rookie
Kate Dedrick to discuss her first year with the Tribe and learn about her off the court interest. The video feature is available below or by clicking
here. Dedrick ranks second on the team with 167 kills and owns a .232 hitting percentage. In her most recent outing, she clubbed nine kills (.444 attack rate) and posted a season-best six blocks against the College of Charleston.
Triple Threat
For the fifth time this season, the Green and Gold had three different players register double-digit kills during its Dig Pink Match with the Seahawks. Biniak led all players with an outstanding effort of 25 kills and a .512 hitting efficiency. Junior
Heather Pippus was next up with 12 kills as she hammered the set-winning point in the first and second period. Dedrick rounded out the trio by hammering 10 kills in 28 attempts with two errors (.286 attack percentage).
Tidbits
- As a team, the Tribe generated a .300-plus attack percentage in both wins against Norfolk State and UNCW. The committed just 10 attack errors versus NSU and limited its misfires to 15 through four sets against UNCW.
- Brown ties seventh in the 25-point single-season record books with 13 solo blocks.
- Junior
Katie Kemp tallied 24 assists and 10 digs against CofC to earn her fourth double-double of 2017.
- Sophomore
Casey Foote notched a career-best 22 digs versus UNCW.
- Biniak has exceeded 15-plus kills 10 time this year and eclipsed 20 on three occasions.
- W&M is only two games out of sixth place in the CAA standings. Elon holds the final seed in the conference tournament with a 3-5 record. The Tribe is currently in a three-way tie with UNCW and Delaware at 1-7.
- Towson is 3-3 in its last six contests after opening the season with a 16-0 start.
- Delaware holds a 0-3 mark in its home gymnasium.
