WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary volleyball team concludes its season-long four-match homestand with a Colonial Athletic Association tilt against Elon on Sunday Oct. 14 at 1 pm. The contest is also a dig pink match as the Tribe partners with the Sideout Foundation to raise breast cancer awareness.
Scouting the Tribe
W&M (5-10, 1-5 CAA) is coming off a 1-2 effort after hosting three matches in four days from Oct. 5-8. The Green and Gold gained its first CAA win over Delaware, before falling in straight sets to Towson and James Madison. Sophomore
Kate Dedrick and freshman
Claire Farrell fueled the offense by accounting for 46 percent of the team's kills in the last three matches. Sophomore
Lauren Moussaid was outstanding in the back line with a rate of 3.91 digs per set.
Scouting the Phoenix
Elon (8-9, 0-6 CAA) is fighting for its first conference win after getting off to a tough start in league play. The Phoenix heads to Williamsburg with the weight of a seven-match losing streak on its shoulders. Elon will lean on senior Kam Terry in order to snap its skid. Terry is second-best in the CAA in kills behind a clip of 3.93 per set. Sophomore Kodi Garcia is also a top performer as she stands sixth in the association in both assists (7.88 per set) and aces (0.34 per set).
Series History vs. Elon
W&M and Elon will meet for the 12
th time in a brief series history on Sunday afternoon. The Tribe trails the Phoenix in all-time series history by a slight margin of 6-5. However, Elon is 6-2 against the Green and Gold since becoming a chartered member of the CAA in 2014. During the previous meeting, W&M grinded out a five-set win to snap a six-game losing streak to EU.
First Five-Set Win
The triumph over Delaware was also the first time the Tribe pulled out a victory in five sets. W&M claimed the first two games, but had to hold off a Delaware comeback bid in taking game five. Rookie
Anne Louise Seekford played a key role in the gritty win after blasting four kills during the final frame. The Leesburg, Va., native delivered match-point and the sealer for the biggest performance of her young career.
Freshmen Impact
The rookie class stepped up in a major way to lift the Tribe to its first conference win over the Blue Hens. The first-year players combined to score 40.5 of W&M's 56 points. Seekford headlined the performance behind a season-high 10 kills, while adding eight digs.
Lauren Merrill provided the best performance of her five appearances by hammering nine kills and digging up eight attacks. Farrell and
Madeleine Bertz rounded out the groups with eight kills and two block assists apiece.
Shining in CAA Action
Sophomore
Julia Brown owns the CAA's ninth-best hitting percentage (.320) against conference opponents. The Geneva, Ill., native registered a .300-plus attack rate in three of six league matchups. Moussaid also ranks ninth with 3.38 digs per set versus league adversaries. She tallied at least 10 digs in her last three appearances as the libero.
Ascending the Record Books
Junior
Autumn Brenner is on the verge of becoming the eighth-highest leader in all-time assists at W&M. The setter needs to dish out just 12 more assists to move past
Lori Price '97 in the record books. So far, Brenner has totaled 1728 career assists in over two seasons with the Tribe.
Digging Doyle
The Tribe was able to nab a rising star in
Tim Doyle as he was selected to the 2017 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Thirty Under 30 list. Doyle built up an impressive resume before accepting his first head coaching opportunity at W&M. In four years at VCU, he helped the program capture 80 wins and make a 2017 NCAA Tournament appearance. He also mentored 13 all-conference selections and saw five players sign professional contracts during his six total years as an assistant.
Sideline Help
Doyle brought in high caliber assistants to help steer the program in a new direction. His first hire was former VCU standout
Janelle Sykes. She recently competed abroad in Azerbaijan and Belgium. Sykes is one the most elite middle blockers in Rams' history, ranking second all-time in blocks per set (1.21) and fourth in total blocks (345).
Colby Arrington was the second hire and he brings a championship pedigree from James Madison. Arrington spent three years on the JMU staff serving in various roles, most recently as the volunteer assistant. He was also a key member of the JMU nationally-ranked men's club volleyball program.
