WILLIAMSBURG, VA.- A career night from
Julia Brown and another double-double from
Lauren Merrill helped the Tribe down Charleston 3-2 Friday night in Kaplan Arena. The Cougars struck first and the teams would trade the next three sets before William & Mary prevailed 15-10 in the deciding fifth to win their third conference match of the season. The Tribe and Cougars split the season series 1-1. It was just the second win for William & Mary over Charleston in 15 attempts.
How It Happened
Things did not look good for the Tribe as Charleston coasted to a 25-14 first set win.
Anna Porter had three of her 25 kills in the opening frame and Brown slammed home three balls in three attempts, but it was not enough as the Cougars hit .310 and never trailed in the opening set route.
The Tribe jumped out to an early lead in the second frame and never looked back. Brown added four more kills and
Kate Dedrick chipped in four of her own as the Green and Gold hit .320 in the stanza.
Autumn Brenner dished out 12 assists to four different teammates and Brown added three blocks as the Cougars were limited to a .088 percentage from the attack line. Though the final score was close, the Tribe never trailed in a 25-23 win to tie the match.
An extremely tight third set saw the match's first lead changes as the teams tied seven times and switched advantages four times in a wild third frame.
Lauren Merrill came alive with five kills and eight digs in the stanza while Brown added four more kills and Porter padded five more digs into the stat sheet. The Tribe outhit the Cougars .208 to .190, but it was Charleston that took a 26-24 set and a 2-1 lead.
The fourth set was all William & Mary from the get-go. The Tribe never trailed in a 25-9 drubbing that featured four kills from
Kate Dedrick and three kills each from
Anne Louise Seekford and
Lauren Merrill.
Anna Porter continued her defensive tenacity with six more digs and Brown added a pair of blocks as the Tribe forced Charleston to a -.187 hitting percentage while surging to a .423 mark of their own.
The Green and Gold rode the momentum into the deciding frame jumping out to an early 2-0 lead, but it would not be a runaway as the final stanza featured a game-high nine ties and four lead changes.
Kaitlyn Ferguson shined down the stretch with a kill and a pair of solo blocks and
Anna Porter racked up eight more digs keeping Charleston to a .000 fifth set offensive performance. Appropriately,
Julia Brown was a large part of the fifth set win with a pair of kills and blocks. The Tribe pulled away late for a 15-10 win sending the hometown fans home happy and preserving hopes of a bid to the CAA Tournament.
Inside the Numbers
Julia Brown finished the night with 13 kills hitting .650 on the evening marking the second straight match the middle blocker has hit above the .600 mark. Brown added a career-high 10 blocks for her first career double-double.
Anna Porter shined in the back row finishing the evening with a career-high 25 digs. It was the second straight match with at least 17 digs for Porter. Brown,
Kate Dedrick, and
Lauren Merrill each finished with double-digit kills for the Tribe. It was the second time this season W&M had three players go for at least 10 kills.
Lauren Merrill finished the night with a career-high 19 digs and 13 kills for her eighth double-double of the season. The sophomore also passed the 200-mark in both kills and digs in a single season.
Autumn Brenner's 46 kills were the second-highest total on the season. The Tribe had a higher hitting percentage than the Cougars in the final four sets of the match and out-blocked Charleston 15-7 on the evening.
Up Next
The Tribe will wrap up the 2019 home slate on Sunday against UNCW. Setter
Autumn Brenner will be honored before the match as part of the team's Senior Day festivities. William & Mary will look to sweep the season series against the Seahawks having beaten UNCW 3-2 on October 4 in Wilmington.
