HEMPSTEAD, N.Y.- William & Mary fell in four sets at Hofstra Saturday afternoon despite strong offensive performances from Kate Dedrick, Claire Farrell, and Lauren Merrill. Autumn Brenner shined with 41 assists, but it was not enough as the Tribe dropped to 2-7 in CAA matches. 
 
How It Happened
The Pride took a quick 3-0 lead behind a pair of aces before a kill from Dedrick and a block from Claire Farrell and Julia Brown would narrow the lead to one. A kill from Farrell would give William & Mary their first lead of the match with a 9-8 advantage, but Hofstra would respond with a 5-0 run to break out to a 16-12 lead. Later in the set, kills from Dedrick and Lauren Merrill would cut the Pride's lead to 23-21, but it would not be enough as Hofstra took a 25-23 win. Kate Dedrick led the Tribe with five kills in the opening frame, supported by Merrill's four and three each from Brown and Farrell. 
 
Kills by Brown and Dedrick helped the Tribe to an early 3-0 lead in the second. Hofstra battled back to tie the set 5-5, but a pair of Farrell kills pushed the Tribe to a 9-6 advantage before a 4-0 run from the Pride would give Hofstra their first lead of the frame. With the game knotted at 14-14, Kaitlyn Ferguson would kick off a four-point William & Mary run. A pair of Merrill smashes made it 22-20 Tribe, but the Pride took the next three points. The teams would trade points pushing the set past the 25-point mark before a trio of blocks from Kaitlyn Ferguson helped the Tribe to a 29-27 win. Lauren Merrill smoked six kills in the frame. 
 
Dedrick's 10th kill of the match would come early in the third set, closing Hofstra's lead to 4-3. A triple block from Brown, Dedrick, and Farrell would give the Tribe their first lead in the third at 9-8. The Pride took six of the next seven points breaking out to a 15-10 advantage and propelling Hofstra to a decisive 25-12 set win. Lauren Merrill and Claire Farrell would join Dedrick with 10-plus kills in the third. 
 
Farrell's 11th kill of the day would tie the fourth set early at 3-3 and Ferguson's fifth block that would give the Tribe a 5-4 edge. The Pride would take six of the next seven points to earn a four point lead. A later 6-0 lead by Hofstra would give the Pride a 16-9 advantage. Lauren Merrill would grab her 10th dig of the day in the frame, but it would not be enough as Hofstra took a 25-17 win to clinch the match. 
 
Inside the Numbers
William & Mary dropped the first set despite hitting .400 as a team in the frame. Claire Farrell led the Tribe with 13 kills on the afternoon. Kate Dedrick added 12 smashes and Lauren Merrill chipped in 10. Both Julia Brown and Kaitlyn Ferguson finished the afternoon with five blocks. It was the 11th five-block effort for Brown and the fourth for Ferguson. Merrill added a team-high 11 digs to her 10 kills for her sixth double-double this season. Autumn Brenner shined assisting on 41 of the Tribe's 47 kills. It was Brenner's second 40-plus assist effort this year. 
 
Notes
Kate Dedrick, Lauren Merrill, and Clare Farrell all reached the double-digit kill mark. It was just the third time this season that the Tribe had a trio of players reach at least 10 kills. It was Farrell's first match eclipsing the 10-kill mark this season. Dedrick recorded double-digit kills for the seventh time in the past eight matches. The junior hit .308 on the afternoon, her seventh match this season hitting over .300. 


Up Next
The Tribe will look to right the ship as they head to Boston for a Monday afternoon match with Northeastern. The Green and Gold will hit the court at 5:00 p.m. against the Huskies.