WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary volleyball team will host a mid-week tilt against Colonial Athletic Association rival Elon on Wednesday, Oct. 25 at 7 pm in Kaplan Arena. The broadcast will be available on Tribe Athletics TV via Stretch Internet. Fans can access both video and live stats will be available at TribeAthletics.com.
Head coach
Melissa Ferris took a few moments to discuss key performances from last weekend and the upcoming clash with the Phoenix. The video feature is available through the above link or by clicking
here.
Scouting the Tribe
W&M (4-20, 1-9 CAA) heads into the week looking for its second conference win. Despite a pair of road losses, the Tribe had a couple of players record standout performances. At Delaware, senior
Sydney Biniak hammered 12 kills to exceed 1,000 in her career and freshman
Kate Dedrick led the team with a career-best 17 kills. In addition, rookie
Julia Brown turned in a pair of solid efforts at the net to finish the week averaging 1.38 blocks per set.
Scouting the Phoenix
Elon (14-11, 3-7 CAA) enters the final leg of its four-match road swing looking to recover from back-to-back setbacks. The Phoenix fell to Towson (10/20) in straight sets, before dropping a four-set match at Delaware (10/22). Senior Sydney Busa highlights the offensive effort as she ranks seventh in the NCAA with 396 total kills. Elon also boasts another nationally-prominent player in freshman Kodi Garcia, who sits 10
th in the nation behind 973 total assists.
Series History
W&M and Elon will face each other for the 11
th time in series history on Wednesday evening. The Phoenix holds a 6-4 edge in the all-time series following a four-set win earlier this year. However, the Tribe is 4-2 when the two programs square off in Kaplan Arena. During the previous meeting, Biniak hammered a team-best 15 kills and Kate Kemp earned a double-double on 34 assists and 13 digs.
Biniak Attack
After joining the 1,000 career kills club last weekend, Biniak is just four away from ranking ninth all-time in school history. With six matches remaining, she needs 65 kills to become the fifth player in W&M history to collect 400 in a season.
Erin Skipper '10 is the only player to finish a season with 400-plus kills in the 25-point scoring system. Currently, Biniak ranks 39
th in the NCAA with 335 total kills and her average of 3.81 kills per set is third-best in the CAA and sixth in program history. Additionally, she stands fourth in program history with 1141.5 career points.
Hitting with Efficiency
Dedrick generated a .419 attack percentage on her way to recording a season-high in kills (17) versus Delaware. The effort marked her fifth time hitting over .400 and the second in as many matches. Before the contest with the Blue Hens, Dedrick earned nine kills in 18 attempts with only one error to finish with a .444 attack rate against the College of Charleston. The Plano, Texas, native has committed just one attack error in five outings.
Block Party
Brown has taken big strides in the past three weeks after totaling at least five blocks in six consecutive matches. In addition, she has finished with a minimum of seven rejection on three occasions and tallied double-digit points four times during the stretch. Her season-best nine stuffs in a sweep of Norfolk State (10/10) ties third in school history in three set contest. She recently earned the Tribe's first CAA weekly award for the week of Oct. 16 after collecting 22 kills and 22 stops. Furthermore, Brown's 1.10 blocks per set against CAA opponents ranks eighth in the league.
Double-Double
Junior
Heather Pippus recorded her ninth career double-double and second of the season in a five-set barnburner at Delaware (10/20). She posted a season-high 19 digs and crushed 13 kills in her ninth start this year. Her last double-double occurred in her first start of the season against New Mexico State (9/16), where she collected 10 kills and 13 digs.
Getting to Know Kemp
This week's edition of the Getting to Know video series features junior setter
Katie Kemp. The video piece is available below or by clicking
here. In her third season, Kemp has dished out 377 assists (4.33 per set) and ties first on the team with 15 service aces. The Brentwood, Tenn., native also paces the team with four double-double performances this year and served at least two aces in five matches. Her season-best 36 assists occurred during a four-set win over Colonial Athletic Association foe UNCW (10/13).
