Boston – The William & Mary volleyball team was led by rookie Julia Brown during a 3-0 (21-25, 21-25, 15-25) setback at Colonial Athletic Association-leading Northeastern on Thursday evening. Brown generated a .400 attack percentage after clubbing eight kills in 15 attempts with two errors to highlight the Tribe's (2-16, 0-5 CAA) offense.
 
Both teams exchanged the lead to open up the first set, before the Tribe ripped off a 5-1 run to grab a 15-11 advantage and force a Huskies (12-6, 5-0 CAA) timeout. Sophomore Casey Foote led the rally by slamming a pair of kills and assisting on a block. However, NU responded with a dominant run of its own to reclaim the lead, 21-17. Brown brought down the hammer to trim the margin, 23-20, but a W&M error and kill from the Huskies' Taylor Reiter concluded game one.
 
In the second set, senior Sydney Biniak and freshman Denisha Shaw turned back an attack for a 4-all tie at the top of the frame. Nonetheless, the Huskies answered with four straight points to take an 8-4 lead. Junior Katie Kemp's second service ace narrowed the NU margin to 22-18, but the Tribe couldn't recover from the early deficit.
 
The Huskies began the third set with a nine-point advantage, before the Tribe scored five unanswered to climb within three, 12-9. Regardless, NU pressed its foot back on the gas pedal to claim the final stanza by a 10-point margin.
 
Inside the Numbers
- The first set was the most competitive game with eight ties and four lead changes.
- The Tribe had two players record 10-plus digs. Junior Heather Pippus notched a team-high 13 digs and senior Sara Zumbach chipped in a season-best 11 more.
- The Green and Gold won the blocking battle 8-to-4. Shaw tallied a match-high five total blocks, all of them assisted. Brown also aided on three blocks to finish with 9.5 points.
- Kemp led the Tribe in assists for the third consecutive outing behind a match-high 16. She also served a pair of aces and added five digs.
- Foote finished the night with seven kills in 16 attempts with three errors (.250 attack percentage). 

Notes
Both Zumbach and Shaw cracked the starting lineup for the first time this season…Shaw's five blocks was the most by a W&M player in 2017…Kemp registered at least two aces for the fifth time this year…Pippus reached double-digit digs in her third outing this year…NU increases its all-time series lead to 16-10.
 
Quotable
"Tonight, there were moments of brilliance and there were moments of undisciplined volleyball. Once we become more disciplined, we will really rise. I have no doubt we will learn from tonight and become a better team. I'm looking forward to getting back in the gym tomorrow and getting back into our rhythm." – Head coach Melissa Ferris
 
Up Next
The Green and Gold concludes its northern road trip at CAA rival Hofstra on Saturday, Oct.7. First served is slated for 7 PM. Next week, W&M returns to Kaplan Arena for a three-match homestead, starting with in-state foe Norfolk State on Oct. 10 (7 PM)