HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – Despite a well-balanced attack, the William & Mary volleyball team was unable to complete its comeback bid in a 3-2 (16-25, 20-25, 25-20, 25-18, 8-15) decision at Colonial Athletic Association rival Hofstra on Saturday evening. The Tribe (2-17, 0-6 CAA) had four players record at least nine kills to recover from a 2-0 deficit and push the Pride (13-7, 5-1 CAA) to five sets.
 
After Hofstra cruised in the first set, W&M managed a quicker start in game two. Junior Heather Pippus cashed in on a kill to grant the Green and Gold a one-point margin, 8-7. Little separation was gained at the mid-point as freshman Kate Dedrick hammered her fourth kill of the period to knot up the frame, 15-all. Sophomore Casey Foote and freshman Julia Brown combined on a block to keep it even, 18-18, but Hofstra claimed the period on the strength of a 7-2 finish.
 
The third set followed suit with the last period as W&M pulled even, 6-all, on the swing of Brown. The Tribe scored four consecutive points to take a five-point advantage at 12-7. Late in the stanza, Luisa Sydlik connected twice with Laura Masciullo to help Hofstra close the gap to 18-16. Nonetheless, Brown's second ace created a 22-18 score, and the Tribe held on to force a fourth set.
 
W&M carried its momentum into the fourth game and jumped out to a 11-7 advantage. The Pride then responded with a 5-0 rally to even it up at 12-all. Regardless, the Green and Gold kept its composure, regaining the lead immediately on a 4-0 spurt, and held off HU to push the contest to five sets.
 
In the final frame, Hofstra stormed out to a commanding 6-0 lead. However, W&M kept battling and back-to-back HU errors closed the gap to 10-8. The Pride then rattled off five unanswered points to prevent the five-set rally.
 
Inside the Numbers
- A trio of W&M players finished the contest with 10-plus kills for the fourth time this year. Sydney Biniak recorded a team-high 16 kills, while Brown and Dedrick totaled 10 apiece. Pippus also contributed to the offensive production with nine kills and also chipped in seven digs.
- The Tribe held a 14-12 edge in blocks as rookie Denisha Shaw and Brown led all players with seven total each. Furthermore, Brown made a career-high two solo stops.
- The Green and Gold had pair of player earn double-figures in both assists and digs. For assists, Junior Katie Kemp led the way with 21 and sophomore Autumn Brenner dished out 16 more. In digs, senior Sara Zumbach registered a team-best 21 and rookie Katie Turner factored in on 11.
- The second set saw match-highs in 11 ties and four lead changes.
- Biniak sparked the comeback attempt with six kills in the third set. As a team, the Tribe produced a .346 hitting efficiency on 12 kills in 26 attempts with three errors during the stanza.

Notes
Brenner ties second all-time in the 25-point scoring system with 1239 career assists…Biniak ranks sixth all-time in total blocks (179) in the current scoring format…Shaw and Brown both totaled season-bests in blocks…Foote assisted on a career-high five blocks as well. Brown served a pair of aces for the fourth time in 2017…The Tribe has forced five sets on three occasions, twice against CAA opponents. The Pride improved its all-time series lead to 25-18.
 
Quotable
"We lost to a very talented Hofstra team in five tonight. I'm very proud of the fight and determination of this team. Tonight, we played Tribe Volleyball from start to finish and set the standard high for the future. Overall, I think the players did a great job making adjustments and the setters did a phenomenal job of mixing up the offense. We stayed disciplined and consistent for most of the match and gave it our all. We are all looking forward to getting back to work on Monday." – Head Coach Melissa Ferris
 
Up Next
After competing on the road the last two weeks, the Tribe returns to Kaplan Arena to host in-state rival Norfolk State on Tuesday, Oct. 10 at 7 PM. The Spartans are W&M's final non-conference opponent. The broadcast will be available on Tribe Athletics TV via Stretch Internet.