NEWARK, Del. – Senior Sydney Biniak became the 10^th player in program history to surpass 1,000 career kills as the William & Mary volleyball team dropped a tough 3-2 (20-25, 25-19, 25-12, 23-25, 11-15) verdict at Colonial Athletic Association rival Delaware on Friday evening. The Blue Hens (4-15, 2-7 CAA) took the last two games to rally past the Tribe (4-19, 1-8 CAA) in the second five-set match of the season between the two programs.
 
Biniak was one of three Tribe players to register double-digit kills (12) en route to achieving her career milestone. Rookie Kate Dedrick also turned in a banner effort with a season-best 17 kills (.419 attack percentage), while junior Heather Pippus recorded her second double-double behind 13 kills and 19 digs.
 
The Green and Gold rebounded from a 1-0 match deficit by hitting over .400 in both the second and third set. Biniak imposed her will on the Delaware defense after hammering an outstanding eight kills in game two. Her 1,000^th career kill lifted the Tribe to an 11-10 edge. Late in period, Biniak spiked four of W&M's last six points to even up the match.
 
Dedrick cashed in on a solid seven kills to lead the Tribe in claiming the third set by a double-digit margin. Her first slam of the stanza granted the Green and Gold a 7-5 lead. Dedrick then went on to register back-to-back kills to put W&M up 19-11. The Tribe secured a 2-1 match lead behind a 5-0 finish.
 
However, the Blue Hens bested the Tribe in an evenly matched fourth set that contained eight ties and five lead changes. In the fifth set, W&M faced the challenge of overcoming a seven-point gap as Delaware grabbed an 11-4 lead. The Tribe battled back and made it a one-point game, 12-11, on the strength of a 5-0 rally. Regardless, UD scored the last three points to complete its comeback.
 
Inside the Numbers
- W&M outhit Delaware .242-to-.202 despite the loss.
- Freshman Julia Brown led all players with six blocks and added seven kills.
- The Tribe had a trio of players tally 10-plus digs. Besides Pippus, senior Sara Zumbach recorded a season-best 23 digs and rookie Katie Turner added 10 more.
- Sophomore Autumn Brenner (25) and junior Katie Kemp (23) combined to dish out 48 assists.
- Sophomore Casey Foote earned nine kills in 19 attempts with just two errors, resulting in a .368 hitting efficiency.
- Turner landed a pair of service aces for the first time in her young career.
- The five-set thrilled contained a total of 25 ties and 12 lead changes.  

Notes
Zumbach dialed up two aces in three consecutive matches…Brown made a pair of solo stops in three of her last five outings…Biniak now owns a career total of 1,010 kills and need 11 more to rank ninth all-time in program history…Brenner's 1,313 career assists peg ninth in the school record books…The Tribe saw three different players record 10-plus kills in a match for the sixth time in 2017.

Quotable
"This team continues to show up and battle and I'm proud of them for that. There are times where we have a lot of unforced errors and when we cut down on those, we will be unstoppable. I thought tonight was one of Kate's best offensive nights. She mixed up her shots well and played with a lot of composure. I'm also very proud of Sydney for her willingness to play on the right or the left. She had a good offensive night and got her 1,000^th kill. She does a great job for us. We are excited to get back in the gym tomorrow and are looking forward to taking on Towson on Sunday." - head coach Melissa Ferris 

Up Next
The Tribe finishes out the weekend with a trip to Towson on Sunday, Oct. 22. First serve is scheduled for 1 pm.