WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Following a three-match road swing, the William & Mary volleyball team returns to Kaplan Arena for a pair of home contests this weekend. The Tribe will host Hofstra on Friday, Oct. 26 at 7 pm, before welcoming Northeastern on Sunday, Oct. 28 at 1 pm.
Scouting the Tribe
Despite a four-set loss to Elon on Wednesday night, W&M (5-14, 1-9 CAA) had a multitude of standout performances in the mid-week tilt. The matchup was highlighted by a pair of double-double efforts from rookies
Lauren Merrill and
Claire Farrell. Merrill registered her top performance of 18 kills with a .341 attack percentage and 15 digs. Farrell notched her first-ever double-double via 10 kills and 12 digs.
Scouting the Pride
Hofstra (17-7, 7-3 CAA) currently sits second in the CAA standings and has the numbers to back up its status. The Pride tops the conference in hitting percentage (.255) and averages the second-most kills per set (12.90). A trio of senior Doris Bogoje and juniors Laura Masciullo and Luisa Sydlik are key cogs to the high-powered offense. Bogoje leads the association in attack percentage (.416) and Sydlik in assists (11.46 per set). Masciullo is the top target for the Pride as she is blasting 3.54 kills per set.
Scouting the Huskies
Northeastern (12-11, 5-5 CAA) recently snapped a three-match skid following a five-set win over Towson on Oct. 21. The triumph against TU concluded three consecutive home matches as NU heads south to face Elon, before visiting Williamsburg. Senior Gabrielle Eyl not only paces the CAA in digs (5.40), but also ranks 22
nd in the nation. Sophomore Samantha Shupe is also dishing out 10.01 assists per set, ranking fourth in the league.
Series History vs. Hofstra
W&M and Hofstra will collide for the 46
th time in series history on Friday night. The Pride dispatched the Green and Gold in straight sets on Sept. 30 to improve its all-time series lead to 27-18. The Tribe will be looking to knock off Hofstra for the first time since 2013.
Series History vs. Northeastern
W&M and NU will face off for the 29
th time in series history on Sunday afternoon. On Sept. 28, the Huskies pulled out a four-set triumph in Cabot Center to extend its all-time series advantage to 18-10. During the last time out, a trio of
Kate Dedrick (13)
, Julia Brown (12), and Farrell (11) registered 10-plus kills.
Power of an Assist
Senior
Katie Kemp has been very effective in engineering the offense across her last four appearances, averaging 10.60 assists per set. At Elon (Oct. 24), she distributed a season-best 50 assists in four sets of action. Kemp now ranks seventh in the CAA courtesy of 6.13 a/s on the year.
Can you Dig It
Sophomore
Lauren Moussaid has been nothing short of superb in the libero jersey. For the second time this year, she tied her career-best of 23 digs versus the Phoenix. The personal-best was established last year at James Madison (Oct. 27, 2017). The Allen, Texas product hit the mark both times against Elon in 2018. It's the third time Moussaid dove for at least 20 digs and also pegs seventh in CAA with 4.43 digs per set against conference foes.
Hitting with Efficiency
Dedrick generated an attack percentage of above .500 for the second time in her two-year career. This past Wednesday night, she crushed 13 kills across 20 attempts with just two errors. The effort resulted in a .550 attack rate against the Phoenix, her best of 2018. Last year, the Plano, Texas native registered a .600 (7-1-10) hitting efficiency versus Norfolk State (Oct. 10, 2017).
Ascending the Record Books
After making three stops last night, Brown now ties ninth in the current scoring era for most career blocks (152). The second-year player has totaled a team-high 46 stops this year, including 16 solo rejections. Brown also recently made the 11
th most solo blocks (4) in program history versus Elon (Oct. 14).
Digging Doyle
The Tribe was able to nab a rising star in head coach
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.
