WILLIAMSBURG, Va.- William & Mary volleyball is back in Kaplan Arena for a trio of matches over four days, hosting Towson Friday evening, rival James Madison on Saturday, and capping things off against Delaware Monday afternoon. Hear what coach
Tim Doyle had to say on the upcoming weekend, the recent play of
Lauren Merrill, and his two freshmen liberos here.
Scouting the Tribe
The Green and Gold enter the weekend 1-3 in CAA matches after splitting a pair of road tests last weekend. Coach Doyle's squad earned their first true road win of the year knocking off UNCW in five sets last Friday night. The Tribe offense has been boosted by a trio of attackers.
Kate Dedrick ranks seventh in the CAA racking up 2.82 kills per set while
Julia Brown is eighth in the conference with a .311 hitting percentage. Sophomore
Lauren Merrill has 137 smashes on the season and is coming off a pair of double-double performances last weekend.
Autumn Brenner orchestrates the William & Mary offense dishing out 393 assists and stroking 19 aces from the service line. Brown anchors the Tribe defense and ranks second in the CAA with 1.18 blocks per set.
Anna Porter leads all W&M defenders with 191 digs and fellow freshman
Gabi Ganley recorded 37 digs in just eight sets of action last weekend.
Scouting the Tigers
The Tigers are unbeaten in CAA play and will bring an eight-match winning streak into Kaplan Arena on Friday night. Towson leads the conference in hitting percentage, opponent hitting percentage, assists, kills, blocks, and digs. The Tigers are racking up nearly three blocks per set and rank third in the NCAA holding opponents to a .123 hitting percentage. Middle blockers Silvia Grassini and Lydia Weirs are both averaging over two kills per set and hitting over .400 on the season. Towson has amassed 84 service aces while only allowing 55 on the season. Camryn Allen has at least one ace in each of the Tiger's last 12 matches.
Scouting the Dukes
James Madison enters the weekend one of the top defensive teams in the CAA. The Dukes rank second in the conference in opponent hitting percentage and blocks and are third in the CAA in total digs. With 4.55 digs per set Savannah Marshall is the top libero in the league and owns a .968 serve reception percentage. Sophia Davis has filled up the stat sheet for the Dukes ranking among the CAA's top-ten in blocks, kills, and hitting percentage.
Scouting the Blue Hens
Delaware boasts one of the most dangerous teams in the nation from the service line. The Blue Hens have six players who have accounted for at least 10 aces and rank 13th in the nation with nearly two aces per frame. Maria Bellinger is the catalyst of Delaware's high-powered offense with 4.50 kills per set, good for first in the CAA and 18th nationally. Freshman setter Ezgi Basaranlar has been strong in all phases of the game recording 558 assists and 102 digs. Bellinger and Ezgi were named CAA Offensive Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week respectively on October 7. It was the second time each player earned the award this season.
Series History
The Tribe trail Towson 23-17 in the all-time series. The Tigers took both meetings against the Tribe last season. James Madison holds a very narrow 49-44 lead over the Tribe in a storied rivalry. William & Mary owns an 18-14 advantage over the Dukes in 32 meetings in Williamsburg. Delaware has taken 26 of 41 meetings between the Tribe and the Hens with the teams splitting the series last season. William & Mary capitalized on home-court advantage winning in Kaplan Arena last year in five sets.
'Tis the Season of Autumn
Senior
Autumn Brenner is making the most of her final season with the Tribe with 393 assists through just 15 matches. The Virginia native has 2,129 career assists and is just four away from passing Kristen Schimke for fifth in William & Mary history.
Freshmen Floor Generals
With 3.80 digs per set,
Anna Porter ranks sixth in the conference and first among all CAA freshmen. Porter has dug at least 10 balls on nine occasions this season. Fellow freshman
Gabi Ganley started at libero for the Tribe last weekend and racked up 36 digs in just eight sets including 21 in the win over UNCW.
On The Block
The Tribe rank in the top half of the CAA with 2.08 blocks per set. Leading the way is
Julia Brown with 65 send-backs at a clip of 1.18 per set, ranking the junior second among all conference blockers. True freshman
Kaitlyn Ferguson is second on the team with 34 total blocks while
Kate Dedrick and
Claire Farrell have each shut down 31 attempts.
Promotions
Friday: William & Mary will Lace Up against pediatric cancer to help raise awareness for the Go4theGoal Foundation. Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer began in the fall of 2011. Since then, professional, college and youth teams have participated in raising funds and awareness for the #1 disease killer of children. To date, over a half million athletes have supported our cause. $4 from every $5 pair of laces and 100% of all donations directly benefit kids and families in the state where the funds are raised. The Tribe will wear gold shoelaces and fans are encouraged to wear gold to the match.
In addition, Friday is also Juniors night as local youth clubs will be in attendance.
Saturday: The first 100 students in the stands for Saturday's match against JMU will receive a free William & Mary swag bag and be entered to win a pair of airpods.
Monday: On Monday the Tribe will Dig Pink in partnership with the Side-Out Foundation to raise awareness for Stage IV breast cancer research. The Tribe liberos will wear special pink jerseys for the occasion. To learn more about the foundation visit side-out.org/dig-pink. Fans are encouraged to show their support by wearing pink.
SCHEDULE AHEAD
Friday- Tribe vs. Towson- 7 p.m.
Saturday- Tribe vs. JMU- 6 p.m.
Monday- Tribe vs. Delaware- 6 p.m.
