CHARLESTON, S.C. – The William & Mary volleyball team gave conference-leading College of Charleston all it could handle, but came up just short in a 3-2 ( 25-12, 13-25, 25-19, 21-25, 15-6) final on Sunday afternoon in TD Arena. Junior Heather Pippus registered a double-double, while senior Sydney Biniak and freshman Kate Dedrick both tallied 10-plus kills in the Tribe's (5-25, 2-14 CAA) season finale with the Cougars (26-4, 15-1 CAA).
 
Pippus generated her fifth double-double of the season (team-best) after collecting 13 kills and 12 digs. Dedrick paced the Green and Gold offense behind 14 kills (.286 hitting percentage) and Biniak contributed 11 more.
 
W&M also received key performances from freshman Denisha Shaw and sophomore Autumn Brenner. Shaw totaled a career-best 10 blocks and also added three kills to finish with 8.5 points. Brenner dictated the offense with authority after distributing a match-high 40 assists, while dumping six kills as well. The McLean, Va., native recorded at least 40 assists on three occasions in 2017.
 
After CofC took a 2-1 match lead, the Green and Gold grabbed an 8-2 advantage to start the fourth set. The Cougars pulled even at 17-all after scoring seven unanswered points. However, Dedrick highlighted a 3-0 run with two kills to help W&M regain control, 23-19. Rookie Julia Brown hammered set-point and Brenner cashed in on the game-clinching kill.
 
Nontheless, the Cougars pressed its foot on the gas pedal in the fifth set after producing a .533 hitting rate. CofC scored nine of its points on kills and committed just one error to prevent the upset.
 
Inside the Numbers
-  The first two sets were decided by a double-digit margin from each team.
- The Tribe recorded a game-high .591 hitting efficiency in the second set.
- Charleston out served W&M behind a 7-to-1 difference in aces.
- The Green and Gold was held to a .056 attack rate in the final frame.
- Katie Turner posted a team-high 15 digs.
- W&M totaled double-figure blocks (11) for the fifth time this year. 

Notes
Shaw tied 10^th in program history for most blocks in five sets…Biniak became the seventh player in Tribe history to exceed 1,000 career kills and 200 career blocks…Biniak also concludes her senior season with 22 double-figure kill performances…Dedrick tallied 10-plus kills eight times during her rookie campaign…Pippus tied her season-high in kills during the final match of the season…All three seniors (Austyn Ames, Sara Zumbach, and Biniak) started in their last collegiate contest.

Quotable
"I'm really proud of the team and how well they played today. We played aggressive and really did a great job of making adjustments. This team has worked hard all season and I'm proud of how they left it all out on the court today. We talk a lot about focusing on the process and not the outcome and always taking step forwards and I truly think we've done that every time we've stepped on the court. In the end, I truly think this team has given everything they've got to getting better and I can't ask more from them." - head coach Melissa Ferris