WILLIAMSBURG, Va.- William & Mary volleyball will hit the court for the final time this season Sunday afternoon. The 2019 season finale will see the Tribe matchup against CAA-leading Towson at 1:00 p.m. in the Tigers' SECU Arena.
Scouting the Tribe
The Tribe will enter the final match of the 2019 season with a 7-19 record, 3-12 in CAA matches. The Tribe boasts a trio of 200-kill players in
Kate Dedrick (275),
Lauren Merrill (229), and
Julia Brown (208). W&M ranks third in the CAA in blocks with 2.36 per set in conference matches. The backline has been solid for the Tribe with
Anna Porter (299), Merrill (231),
Gabi Ganley (158), and
Autumn Brenner (157) racking up over 100 digs.
Kate Dedrick sits just four away from the 100-mark entering Sunday's finale.
Scouting the Tigers
Towson enters Sunday's match on a 19-game winning streak with just two losses on the season and undefeated in conference play. The Tigers rank first in the conference and fifth in the NCAA holding opponents to just .136 hitting. Towson also leads the CAA in assists, kills, digs, and offensive hitting percentage. The strength of the dynamic Tiger team is in the center as middle blockers Lydia Wiers and Silvia Grassini both rank in the CAA's top three in blocks per set and hitting percentage. Outside hitters Emily Jarome and Olivia Finckel are both averaging over 2.90 kills per set, and Marrisa Wonders leads the conference with 11.56 assists per frame.
Season Series
The Tigers defeated the Tribe 3-0 in the only previous meeting between the teams this season on October 11 in Williamsburg. W&M was able to out-block 6-1 in the contests as
Julia Brown led all players with four send-backs. The Tribe hit .316 with 17 kills in a tight 25-23 second frame.
Lauren Merrill led the Green and Gold with nine kills in the match while
Claire Farrell added eight, and
Kate Dedrick sent home seven.
Brown's Special Season
Julia Brown has been a force on both sides of the net for coach Doyle's side this season. Brown's .391 hitting percentage in conference matches ranks second in the CAA and her .336 percentage is the highest of any Tribe attacker since the 2005 season and the third-highest in program history. The junior's 1.16 blocks per set total ranks among the top-five in the league and the best among all W&M defenders since the 2010 season.
Dedrick's Domination
Junior
Kate Dedrick has been the Tribe's most consistent offensive weapon all season with a career-high 275 kills entering Sunday's finale. Dedrick's 3.25 kills per set rank fifth among all players in CAA matches. The Texas native has reached double-digit kills in 16 matches this season and topped 15 kills on five occasions. The opposite side hitter smashed 21 kills in a three-set match against James Madison in October, the best effort by any Tribe player in a three-set match during the rally-scoring era. Dedrick has also secured career-highs in digs and aces this season.
Porter Makes Her Mark
Freshman
Anna Porter leads the Tribe with 299 digs entering the final match of the 2019 season. She ranks first in digs and digs per set among all CAA freshmen and eighth among all players in the league with 3.36 digs per set. Porter will finish the season with the best dig per set mark by a Tribe freshman since the 2010 season and is looking to become just the second Tribe first-year to reach the 300-dig mark in that span. The libero has added 36 assists and 16 service aces in her first season in Williamsburg.
Iron Women
Julia Brown,
Kate Dedrick, and
Lauren Merrill have all played in each of the Tribe's 93 sets entering Sunday's showdown with Towson. Should all three see action in the season's final sets it will mark just the third time in William & Mary history that three players have played in every game in a given season. In addition,
Autumn Brenner has seen action in 92 of the team's 93 sets while
Anna Porter has been on the floor for 89 games.
Claire Farrell,
Kaitlyn Ferguson, and
Gabi Ganley have each played in over 80 sets for coach Doyle's side.
Building Blocks
Julia Brown leads W&M with 1.16 blocks per set. True freshman
Kaitlyn Ferguson ranks second on the team with 71 total blocks, good for 0.88 per frame. This season marks the first time since 2014 that the Tribe has had two players average at least 0.85 blocks per game.
Youth Movement
The Tribe is one of the youngest teams in the NCAA with just three upperclassmen. The Green and Gold will return all three players that have seen action in every set this season in 2020. In addition, sophomores
Claire Farrell (87),
Anne Louise Seekford (66), and
Zeyanna Dhalla (35) have seen significant action while freshmen
Anna Porter (89),
Kaitlyn Ferguson (81),
Gabi Ganley (81), and
Kate Van Houten (33) have made a large impact in their first year on campus.
SCHEDULE AHEAD
Sunday: Tribe at Towson- 1:00 p.m.
