WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary volleyball team had its three-match win streak come to a close at the hands of a hot-hitting Eastern Michigan on Saturday afternoon at Kaplan Arena. The Eagles (8-3) hit .468 with 37 kills over the final two sets to pull out the 25-21, 25-20, 25-12 victory.
In the opening set, Eastern Michigan jumped out to a 17-12 advantage with five-straight points, including a Jordan Smith ace that forced a Tribe (3-5) timeout. The Green and Gold used a 5-1 run, including back-to-back kills from senior
Heather Pippus (Lake Oswego, Ore.) and freshman
Claire Farrell (Alexandria, Va.) to draw within 18-17, but EMU scored the final three points of the match, including two Smith kills to take the set, 25-21. Pippus finished with six kills in opening set, and Farrell added five.
W&M jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the second set, thanks to a 4-0 run. A Farrell block alongside classmate
Madeleine Bertz (Atlanta, Ga.) and a Farrell kill capped the run. The Eagles, who hit .447 in the second set, pulled even at 16 and then used a 6-1 run to end the set and pull out a 25-20 win. Arial Hamby started the run with back-to-back kills, before Alyssa LaFace ended it with a kill and an ace to give EMU a two-set lead.
Eastern Michigan put the match away by hitting .500 in the final set. The Eagles used a 10-1 run to open up a 16-5 lead on the way to a 25-12 victory, its third of the Colonial Classic. EMU downed by Savannah State and Norfolk State in three sets to claim the event crown.
Inside the Numbers
- The Tribe produced its second-best hitting percentage of the season .255 with 33 kills and only eight errors, including .333 with 10 kills and zero errors in set two.
- EMU hit .352 for the match and had 51 kills in the victory.
Notes
Freshman
Claire Farrell hit a career-best .455 with 11 kills … It marked her fifth match of double-digit kill match this season and third in the last four contests …
Freshman
Madeleine Bertz finished with three blocks, marking her fifth match of at least three blocks this season … Freshman
Macy Cummings (Denver, Colo.) tied her career high in digs with seven for the second-straight match of the Colonial Classic … Senior
Katie Kemp (Brentwood, Tenn.) and junior
Autumn Brenner (McLean, Va.) each tallied 15 assists.
Up Next
The Tribe wraps up play at the Colonial Classic tonight facing fellow Hampton Roads-foe Norfolk State at 7 p.m. tonight at Kaplan Arena. Fans can also catch the match FREE in HD on Tribe Athletics TV.
