HARRISONBURG, Va. – Despite a multitude of standout performances, the William & Mary volleyball team dropped a tough 3-2 (23-25, 15-25, 25-21, 27-25, 15-11) ruling at Colonial Athletic Association rival James Madison on Friday evening. The Dukes (16-4, 7-4 CAA) took the last three sets to rally past the Tribe (5-21, 2-10 CAA) in the 91^st all-time meeting between the Commonwealth programs.
 
W&M got off to a red-hot start by totaling 18 kills and hitting .400 as a team in the opening set. Senior Sydney Biniak clubbed back-to-back kills to carry the Tribe to a 4-1 advantage. The Dukes then made it a one-point game, 10-9, courtesy of a 6-1 rally. However, W&M held a 23-21 lead after freshman Lauren Moussaid slammed her third kill of the stanza. The Green and Gold went on to take the set following back-to-back JMU attack errors.
 
The Dukes led the second set 8-9, before committing four consecutive hitting errors to give W&M a 12-9 margin. The Tribe continued to cushion its lead as Biniak and Denisha Shaw stuffed an attack to take a 20-13 advantage. Another combination block from freshmen Julia Brown and Kate Dedrick provided W&M set-point, before an unforced JMU error sealed the frame.
 
JMU pulled away late in the third set and overcame a 22-19 deficit in the fourth to force game five. In the final period, Biniak struck down back-to-back kills in providing W&M a 4-2 edge. Nonetheless, JMU scored five straight points to go up 12-8 down the stretch. Junior Katie Kemp set up classmate Heather Pippus to pull within two, 12-10, but the Dukes completed their comeback bid behind a 3-1 finish.
 
Inside the Numbers
- A tandem of Binak and Pippus paced the Tribe offense with double-digit kills. Biniak totaled 15-plus kills for the 11^th time this year with a match-high 19. Pippus recorded a double-double in three of her last four matches with 13 kills and 16 digs.
- Sophomore Autumn Brenner registered her third double-double of 2017 behind 22 assists and 11 digs.
- Moussaid finished just shy of the Tribe's third double-double after collecting a season-best 23 digs and nine kills.
- Rookie Katie Turner exceeded 20 digs in her second straight match with 21 on the night. She posted a season-best 27 in a CAA win over Elon (10/25).
- Brown tallied double-digit points (13.5) by notching eight kills, five blocks and two aces. The Geneva, Ill., native has dialed up a pair of aces in five outings and ranks second on the team with 17 total.
- Kemp dished a team-best 29 assists to go along with eight digs.
- Dedrick contributed eight kills, while Shaw assisted on five blocks.
- As a team, W&M tied its season-high 92 digs. The Green and Gold hit the mark in the previous match against the Phoenix.
- The Tribe concluded the five-set barnburner with 10 blocks, which is the fourth time the team earned double-figure stops. 

Notes
Biniak moved to eighth all-time in W&M history in kills (1,056) and third in career points (1183.5)…Biniak also improved her status in the school's single-season record books, tying ninth in kills (374)…The Tribe has gone five sets in three of its last four matches…JMU now holds a tight 47-44 all-time series lead...Brown's 92 blocks this year ranks fifth in the 25-point scoring format.
 
Quotable
"This team showed a lot of fight and determination tonight and I am so proud of them. As a program, we are focusing on taking steps forward each time we play and we definitely did that tonight. Defensively, I thought Katie Turner played great as well as Lauren. I think on the offensive side, we mixed up or shots well and spread out the offense. Overall, it was a well fought, composed match by the whole team and I'm very proud of them and the steps we are taking." – head coach Melissa Ferris
 
Up Next
The Tribe closes out the home portion of its schedule with a pair of conference matchups against Northeastern and Hofstra next weekend. W&M will welcome the Huskies on Nov. 3 (7 pm), before holding senior day versus the Pride on Nov. 5 (1 pm). Both contests will be broadcasted on Tribe Athletics TV via Stretch Internet.