WILLIAMSBURG, Va.- Tribe Volleyball is headed to North Carolina for a Sunday matinee at Elon. The 1:00 p.m. match is the only contest this weekend for William & Mary as the Tribe will look to build on Monday's 3-0 win over Delaware. Looking to stay hot is Tribe junior
Kate Dedrick who has been one of the most lethal attackers in the NCAA of late with 40 kills over her past two matches.
Scouting the Tribe
William & Mary enters the match 6-12 on the season with a 2-5-mark midway through conference play. Last time out the Tribe blanked Delaware 3-0 for the team's first home conference win of the season. The Tribe has been a terror at the net for opposing offenses, ranking third in the league with 2.11 blocks per set.
Autumn Brenner recently moved into fifth in William & Mary history with 2,245 career assists and has been commanding the Tribe offense with 491 helpers on the year. Frontliners
Julia Brown,
Kate Dedrick, and
Lauren Merrill each have over 295 points on the season and are averaging over 3.00 points per set. Merrill, along with Brenner,
Gabi Ganley, and
Anna Porter have each been key to the Tribe defense accumulating 100-plus digs.
Scouting the Phoenix
Fresh off a win over North Carolina Central on Wednesday night, Elon will bring a 10-11 overall record into Sunday's clash. The Phoenix is 4-3 in league play and has been tough at home with a 6-3 mark in the Schar Center. Elon boasts a three-headed monster on offense with Leah Daniel, Nori Thomas, and Kellyn Trowse all averaging over 2.49 kills per set. Daniel ranks third in the CAA with 3.99 smashes per frame. The Phoenix offense is orchestrated by setters Haylie Clark and Kodi Garcia who each boast over 400 assists on the year. Elon's 12.44 kills per set rank fourth in the CAA. Defensively Isabella Seman and Jordan Gower co-lead Elon with 218 digs, and Jean Krzeminski has been a force at the net with 74 total blocks. Opponents are out blocking the Phoenix 219.5-159.5 this season.
Series History
With just 13 all-time meetings, the Tribe has faced Elon fewer times than any other CAA opponent. William & Mary is just 5-8 in limited opportunities against Elon and winless in the Schar Center.
Kate Has Been Great
Junior opposite
Kate Dedrick has been one of the most lethal players in the NCAA of late, racking up 40 kills in her last six sets. With 92 kills in 23 conference sets, Dedrick ranks third in the CAA in kills per set. The Texas native threw down 21 kills last Saturday against James Madison, the most of any CAA player in a three-set match this season. Dedrick followed the performance with a 19-kill encore in the Tribe's three-set win over Delaware on Monday evening. Kate has reached double-digit kills in a team-high 12 matches.
Block It Out
The William & Mary defense has out-blocked opponents 140-119 on the season and 37-23 in the past five matches.
Julia Brown has been the Tribe's best player at the net ranking third in the CAA with 79 total blocks for a 1.23 per set average. Freshman
Kaitlyn Ferguson has embraced her role in the middle of the Tribe defense and sent back 40 blocks, 18 over the past six matches.
Kate Dedrick and
Lauren Merrill have chipped in 15 blocks apiece in conference play while
Claire Farrell has added 10.
Sparking The Offense
The Tribe's offense has come alive in the past three matches averaging 12.33 kills per set. The Tribe smashed 17 kills while hitting .316 in the second set against a Towson team that ranks third in the NCAA limiting opponents to a .123 hitting percentage. The offense kept rolling against James Madison as the Tribe hit .257 for 38 kills. In the Tribe's most recent outing the team downed 45 kills in just three sets hitting .261 in the process.
Milestone Watch
Lauren Merrill has been a consistent force for the Tribe on both sides of the net and is nearing two career milestones. The sophomore is just 14 kills and seven digs away from the career 300-mark for each category. In addition,
Julia Brown is just one block away from 250 in her career.
Kate Dedrick is three kills away from the 200-mark on the season, and
Claire Farrell's next slam will be her 100th kill.
Autumn Brenner is nine assists away from reaching 500 for the year.
SCHEDULE AHEAD
Sunday- Tribe at Elon 1:00 p.m.
10/26- Tribe at Hofstra 1:00 p.m.
10/28- Tribe at Northeastern 5:00 p.m.
