WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary volleyball team flies out west to compete against three of the top defensive teams in the country in the Wildcat Classic on Sept. 15-16. The Tribe concludes its tournament schedule with a Friday doubleheader against hosting Arizona (3:30 PM EST) and Illinois State (7:30 PM EST), before faceing New Mexico State (12:30 PM EST) on Saturday.
TribeAthletics.com caught up with head coach
Melissa Ferris and sophomore setter
Autumn Brenner to discuss the team's effort in the Wake Forest Invitational and look ahead to this weekend. The video feature is available through the above link or by clicking
here.
Scouting the Tribe
W&M heads into its final non-conference weekend looking to improve on its 2-8 record. At the Wake Forest Invitational (Sept. 9-8), senior
Sydney Biniak earned her third consecutive All-Tournament nod after leading all players in kills through each match. Due to her outstanding effort, Biniak now ranks 30
th in the nation behind 4.29 kills per set. Brenner also moved to seventh-best in the Colonial Athletic Association with 5.69 assists per set.
Scouting the Wildcats
Arizona is coming off a bye week after its scheduled matches in the FSU/FAMU Classic were cancelled due to Hurricane Irma. The 2016 NCAA Tournament participant is 4-2 heading into its second home tournament. The Wildcats early season success is due in large part to its exceptional defensive play. The squad ranks top 15 in the NCAA in both opponent hitting percentage (.130) and blocks per set (3.11). The Wildcats are led by sophomore middle blocker Devyn Cross as she stands 34
th in DI with 1.42 blocks per set. Second-year setter Julia Patterson also dictates a well-balanced offense behind 10.45 assists per set.
Scouting the Redbirds
Illinois State enters this weekend with a 4-6 record following a mid-week setback at in-state rival Northern Illinois. The Redbirds are led by their back row, which ranks 10
th in the nation on 18.31 digs per set. So far, junior Courtney Pence is the fourth-best libero in the country as she averages 6.26 digs per set. Illinois State has had two other players reach triple-digit digs in Lexi Varga (112) and Lexi Wallen (111). The offensive attack is paced by senior Jaelyn Keene, a middle blocker averaging 3.64 kills per set (.305 attack percentage) and 1.08 blocks per set.
Scouting the Aggies
New Mexico State, the Western Athletic Conference preseason favorite, is coming off a perfect weekend in its second consecutive home tournament. The Aggies won each match of the Borderland Invitational in straight sets to advance its record to 6-3. NM State has also recorded some of the best defensive effort in the country, ranking top 15 in digs per set (18.09) and opponent hitting percentage (.131). Senior
Ariadnne Sierrab ranks 21
st in the NCAA in digs per set (5.41). Offensively, senior Jordan Abalos owns a team-best 3.23 kills per set.
Series History
- Each contest in the Wildcat Classic serves as an inaugural meeting.
- Despite competing against six PAC-12 representatives in all-time series history, the Green and Gold has never faced off against Arizona.
- Illinois State will become the third Missouri Valley Conference program to square off against W&M. The Tribe is 3-0 against MVC schools after defeating Southern Illinois twice and Northern Iowa once.
- The matchup with New Mexico State is W&M's first-ever tilt against a WAC team.
Historic Effort
During an exceptional weekend of offensive prowess, Biniak saved her best for last in a five-set comeback attempt against USC Upstate. The four-year veteran not only recorded her sixth consecutive match with double-digit kills, but totaled a career-best in 29 that ties eighth in school history. It's the first time a player has reached 25-plus kills in a match since 2009 when
Lindsay Kresch (2009-10) posted 26 at UNCW.
Career Milestone
Brenner became the 13
th player in program history to exceed 1,000 career assists in a 3-0 setback vs. Maryland Eastern Shore. It took her 119 sets to accomplish the landmark. The McLean, Va., native dished out a season-high 32 assists in the weekend finale against USC Upstate, increasing her career total to 1,036. She now ranks third in school history in the 25-point scoring format.
Nice Digs
Rookie
Lauren Moussaid was a pillar of the back court last weekend. She led all players in digs in two of the three matches and reached 10-plus in each outing. The first-year player topped her season-best twice with 16 digs against Wake Forest, before earning 20 vs. USC Upstate. Moussaid concluded the Wake Forest Invitational averaging 4.00 digs per set.
Tidbits
- The trip the Arizona will be a homecoming for head coach Melissa Ferris as she competed collegiately for the Wildcats and graduated in 1996. She still ranks seventh in program history in solo blocks.
- The last time the Tribe took a trip out west was during the 2013 season to compete in the Fullerton Invitational hosted by Cal State-Fullerton.
- The Wildcats are the third team W&M will take on from the Power 5 conferences. The Green and Gold competed against Rutgers in the season-opening tournament and also claimed a set versus Wake Forest this past weekend.
- The Tribe had two players record double-doubles in its five-set bout with USC Upstate. Junior Katie Kemp tallied 25 assists and 10 digs to achieve the sixth double-double of her career and second this year. Moussaid earned the second of the season courtesy of 10 kills and the aforementioned 20 digs. The last time two W&M players generated double-doubles was against UNCW on Oct. 9, 2016.
