WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – After missing two weeks of action due to Hurricane Florence, the William & Mary volleyball team returns to the court with its Colonial Athletic Association action opener at the College of Charleston on Sunday, Sept. 23 at 1 pm.
Scouting the Tribe
The Tribe (4-5) is starting to peak at the right time with a 4-2 record in its last six matches. Most recently, W&M claimed two out of three in its home tournament (Sept. 7-8) after downing both Savannah State and Norfolk State in straight sets. Sophomore
Kate Dedrick and freshman
Claire Farrell led the way with All-Tournament accolades. Dedrick ranked second among all players in the event with 3.33 kills per set, and also ranked third in points (3.61 per set). Farrell ranked second in the tournament with a stellar .417 hitting percentage, and was averaging 3.0 kills per set (fourth in the field) through the first two matches before she was thrust into service as a libero in the finale.
Scouting the Cougars
Despite facing four Power Five Conference opponents, CofC (9-5) has collected the second-most wins in the CAA. The Cougars bounced back from a three-game skid by winning seven of its last eight to close out their non-conference slate. Senior opposite Kenney Madison and classmate Allison Beckman are two of the top offensive weapons in the league. Madison owns the fifth-highest attack percentage (.339), while also drilling the fourth-most kills (3.72 k/s). Beckman is second among all CAA players in assists, averaging 10.84 per set
Series History vs. College of Charleston
W&M and CofC will clash for the 12
th time in series history this weekend. The programs met only once before Charleston became a chartered member of the CAA in 2013. The all-time series lead is held by the Cougars, owning a 10-1 advantage over the Tribe. During the previous meeting, W&M fell to Charleston in a five-set barnburner.
Serving Aces
The Tribe owns the most aggressive serve in the nation, ranking 26
th in DI with 1.73 per set. Junior
Autumn Brenner dropped in the most aces of her career with four against Savannah State She paces the team behind 10 on the year. Furthermore, W&M has recorded at least seven aces four times and reached double-digits twice.
Road Trip
This weekend is start of W&M's longest road swing of the season with three consecutive matches away from Williamsburg. After visiting CofC, the Tribe treks northeast to face Northeastern (Sept. 28) and Hofstra (Sept. 30). On the flip side, the Green and Gold follow up the road stretch with a four-match homestand from Oct. 5-14.
Hitting with Efficiency
Dedrick generated a season-best .393 attack percentage in a sweep of Norfolk State on Sept. 8. She needed just 28 attempts to tie her season-high 16 kills and committed just five errors. Dedrick also recorded a career-high with seven digs. The Plano, Texas native hit over. 330 four times this year and tallied 10-plus kills on three occasions.
Taking on a New Role
Junior
Casey Foote has excelled in her new role as the libero. Her average of 3.23 digs per set ranks 10
th in the CAA. Foote recorded at least 20 digs in a match twice, including a career-high 25 in a win over Robert Morris. The Prospect, Ky., product also holds a .937 reception percentage across 205 attempts with 13 errors.
Power of an Assists
Brenner and
Katie Kemp are both making a steady climb up the all-time W&M record books. Brenner is 96 assists away from replacing
Lori Price '97 as the eighth all-time leader. Meanwhile, Kemp needs to dish out just two more assists to slide into the top 10. This year, Brenner ranks seventh in the CAA in assists (6.55 per set), while Kemp (5.20 per set) stands ninth in the league.
Block Party
Sophomore
Julia Brown moved to the 10
th in career blocks (123) in the 25-point scoring format at W&M. She ranks second on the team with 17 blocks this year. Brown has also made to most solo stops behind six. Rookie
Madeleine Bertz paces the team in rejections, averaging 0.97 per set.
Raising the Bar
Over the course of the Colonial Classic (Sept. 7-8), a handful of Tribe players posted season-best efforts. After being inserted into the libero spot vs Norfolk State, Farrell notched eight digs and also served a pair of aces. Freshman
Anne Louise Seekford accumulated double-digit points (11) for the first time via eight kills and three aces against NSU. Classmate
Macy Cummings succeeded in the backline by tying her season-high seven digs in all three matches of the home tournament. Against Savannah State, Brenner achieved a career-best in four aces.
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 quite the 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. Additionally, Doyle brought Big Ten experience to Williamsburg following two years at Ohio State.
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.
