WILLIAMSBURG, Va.- William & Mary volleyball returns from the road to host a trio of home matches beginning Wednesday night at Kaplan Arena. The Tribe will face Elon at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday and conclude the 2019 home slate with matches against Charleston on Friday and UNCW on Sunday. Sunday's matinee against the Seahawks will be the final home match for Tribe senior setter
Autumn Brenner.
Scouting the Tribe
Coach Doyle's Tribe enters the final home stand of the year with a 3-5 mark in Kaplan Arena. The Green and Gold are 6-15 in 2019 and need to improve on a 2-8 CAA mark to be in position to make the conference tournament. Offensively the Tribe has been powered by
Kate Dedrick. The junior leads the team with 229 kills, averaging nearly four per set in conference play. Middle blockers
Julia Brown and
Kaitlyn Ferguson both rank in the CAA top-10 in blocks per set and freshmen liberos
Anna Porter and
Gabi Ganley have cleaned up in the Tribe's back row.
Scouting the Phoenix
The Phoenix will enter Wednesday's match with a 5-5 league record and in the final stage of a three-match road trip. Elon has dropped the previous two legs of the trip, falling to Hofstra and Northeastern last Thursday and Saturday respectively. The matchup will be the second in just 10 days between the two teams as Elon outlasted the Tribe 3-1 on October 20 at the Schar Center. The Phoenix found an offensive boost from Leah Daniel and Kellyn Trowse who combined for 37 kills, while Natalie Cummins was huge at the net with seven blocks in the four-set win.
Scouting the Cougars
Charleston will bring a 2-8 CAA mark into Friday's showdown. The Cougars stumbled last weekend with a pair of 3-1 home losses to James Madison and Delaware but did defeat the Tribe in an October 6 meeting in the Palmetto State. Charleston has been stingy defensively pacing all CAA teams with 16.74 digs per set led by Logan Manusky's 5.46 scoops per frame. Senior Mandy Napierala has been on fire with at least 20 kills in the Cougars' past two matches and has slammed home 215 point-enders on the season.
Scouting the Seahawks
UNCW will visit Elon Friday before traveling to Kaplan Arena for a Sunday matinee. The Seahawks enter the weekend tied with the Tribe at 2-8 in league play and have a 12-11 mark overall. UNCW split a pair of three-set matches last weekend knocking off Delaware before being swept by James Madison. Wilmington ranks in the top half of the CAA in both opponent hitting percentage and blocks and senior Kendall Bender sits at second with 46 total blocks in conference matches. Helping to limit opposing offenses has been Madison Peters leading the Seahawks with 4.14 digs per set.
Season Series
It was just over a week ago that the Tribe fell in four sets to Elon despite outhitting the Phoenix in a pair of the four frames.
Kate Dedrick slammed 16 kills and
Kaitlyn Ferguson sent back six blocks in the loss.
Lauren Merrill had a double-double with 11 kills and 12 digs in the Tribe's three-set loss earlier this season to Charleston.
Gabi Ganley had a team-high 16 digs and the Tribe out-blocked the Cougars 7-4. On October 4 the Tribe outlasted UNCW in a five-set classic earning at the time their first CAA victory of the season. The Green and Gold hit over .250 in three of the five sets and
Lauren Merrill recorded another double-double in the winning effort.
Autumn's Final Season
This week marks the final three home matches in the career of William & Mary setter
Autumn Brenner. Brenner has 593 assists this season and 2,383 in her illustrious four-year career. The Virginia native ranks fifth in William & Mary history in assists, first in the current scoring format. Brenner has been steady defensively leading all active Tribe players with 671 digs in addition to 62 blocks.
Net Advantage
Since the beginning of CAA play, the Tribe has ranked in the top half of the conference in hitting percentage and blocks per set.
Julia Brown has played a large role in William & Mary's success ranking seventh in the CAA with a .321 hitting percentage and tied for sixth in the league with 1.09 blocks per set. Freshman
Kaitlyn Ferguson has added 1.29 blocks per set in the Tribe's last four contests.
Seeing 200/200
Coming into the final six matches of the season,
Lauren Merrill is just 10 kills and 25 digs from the 200 mark in both categories. Merrill is on pace to become the first Tribe player in three years to end a season with 200 kills and 200 digs. The sophomore leads the Green and Gold with six double-doubles this season, recording three in the Tribe's past six outings.
Fresh Faces
Freshmen liberos
Anna Porter and
Gabi Ganley have combined to start all 21 matches for the Tribe this season. Ganley leads all freshmen having played in 73 of the Green and Gold's 75 sets this season, Porter has appeared in 71.
Kaitlyn Ferguson has started the last 18 matches and been on the court for all 63 sets over that time span.
Kate Van Houten has been key off the bench for the Tribe clocking in for 21 sets in her first year on campus.
SCHEDULE AHEAD
Wednesday: Tribe vs. Elon- 7:00 p.m.
Friday: Tribe vs. Charleston- 7:00 p.m.
Sunday: Tribe vs. UNCW- 1:00 p.m.
