WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Coming off a three-match road swing, the William & Mary volleyball team returns to Kaplan Arena for three contests in four days. The Tribe hosts Delaware (7 pm) and Towson (7 pm) from Oct. 5-6, before welcoming reigning CAA champion James Madison (6 pm) on Monday, Oct. 8.
Scouting the Tribe
W&M (4-8, 0-3 CAA) is hunting for its first conference win after falling to Northeastern and Hofstra on the road. It's been a challenging start to the CAA play for the Tribe. The first three opponents combine for a league record of 10-2. Sophomore
Kate Dedrick and freshman
Claire Farrell remain the go-to-targets for the young team. Farrell leads the Green and Gold with 105 kills and Dedrick is right behind her with 104.
Scouting the Blue Hens
Delaware (6-10, 0-4 CAA) strives to end a six-match losing streak in Williamsburg. Despite their recent struggles, the Blue Hens are middle of the pack in the CAA offensive stat categories. As a team, UD is fifth in both kills (12.69 per set) and assists (11.97). Delaware also has the top back line in the league with a CAA-best 17.50 digs per set. Individually, junior Maria Bellinger paces the association courtesy of 3.98 kills per set, while junior Andie Hanus slots second with 5.33 d/s.
Scouting the Tigers
Towson (6-11, 1-3 CAA) dropped its last three conference matchups, before its scheduled tilt at Elon on Thursday night. The Tigers aim to improve defensively in league play as they have surrendered a .238 hitting percentage to CAA opponents. However, senior Anna Holehouse is the top libero in the association with an average of 5.33 digs per set.
Scouting the Dukes
JMU (12-3, 4-0 CAA) is off to rocking start in CAA action as one of two unbeaten teams. The defending conference champs sit atop the league standings and also own the highest overall winning percentage. Back-to-Back defensive player of the week M'Kaela White is the CAA's most dominant player. She tops the conference in both hitting percentage (.410) and blocks (1.47 per set), while pegging 10
th in kills (2.91 per set).
Series History vs. Delaware
W&M and UD will collide for the 40
th time in series history on Friday evening. The Blue Hens claim a 25-14 all-time series lead against the Tribe, winning the last four matchups. Last year, both meetings between the programs lasted five sets.
Series History vs. Towson
W&M and Towson square off for the 39
th time in series history on Saturday night. The Tribe trails the Tigers by an all-time series margin of 21-17. TU has dispatched the Tribe in straight sets in the last four matchups.
Series History vs. James Madison
The long-standing in-state rivalry between W&M and JMU will continue for the 92
nd time in series history on Monday. The Dukes lead the all-time series behind a slight margin of 47-44. The previous matchup was a thrilling five-set affair with JMU holding off a fierce Tribe comeback bid. During the last time out,
Julia Brown made five blocks,
Katie Kemp distributed 29 assists and
Lauren Moussaid dove for 23 digs.
Home Sweet Home
The upcoming four match homestand will be the longest stretch of consecutive events held in Kaplan Arena. Afterwards, only four home matches remain on the schedule. So far, the Tribe is 2-1 in Williamsburg following a second-place finish in the Colonial Classic (Sept. 7-8).
Lace Up 4 Cancer
The contest with James Madison on Monday is also a Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer match. For that evening, the Tribe will Lace up 4 Pediatric Cancer to support the Go4theGoal foundation to help kids battling cancer. Go4theGoal works to improve the lives of children battling cancer by providing financial assistance, granting special wishes, developing unique hospital programs, and funding innovative research.
Double-Digit Kills
For the first time, a trio of players hammered 10-plus kills in a four-set defeat at Northeastern (Sept. 28). The group consisted of Dedrick (13), Brown (12) and Farrell (11). Farrell is off to a spectacular start in her W&M career with double-digits kills in six of her 11 appearances at right side. Dedrick has reached double-figure kills on four occasions, while Brown did it for the second time.
Brenner with Another Double-Double
Another standout performance from the Northeastern match came from junior
Autumn Brenner. The McLean, Va., native recorded her second double-double of the year via 18 assists and 12 digs. Her previous occasion happened against Central Arkansas after totaling 49 assists and 13 digs.
Serving Aces
The Green and Gold is one of the best teams in the nation behind the service line. W&M ranks 25
th in the NCAA with an average of 1.67 aces per set. Most recently, Brown achieved a career-high five aces at Hofstra last Sunday. The Tribe has landed at least seven aces in a match on five occasions.
Ascending the Record Books
Brenner continues her chase of becoming the eighth all-time leader in assists at W&M. Currently with 1,681 career assists, she is 60 shy of moving past
Lori Price '97. For records of the current scoring era, Brown recently slid into the top 10 in career blocks with 131. With 22 more stops, Brown will take over the ninth-place spot.
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.
