WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - William & Mary volleyball dropped a scrimmage to VCU three sets to one Friday evening at Kaplan Arena. The Tribe fell in three close sets before earning a 25-18 win in the fourth and final game played between the two teams. All 14 rostered players saw action for the Green and Gold.
The Tribe kept things close in the first set trailing 21-20 late in the frame. However, VCU would prove too much and take a 25-21 opening round win despite four William & Mary players registering at least three kills.
The Green and Gold would falter 25-20 in set two and 25-19 in set three, but saw great attacking from
Lauren Merrill who racked up five kills in each of the two stanzas.
Merrill led the Tribe to a 25-18 win in set four behind five more kills, giving the sophomore 18 on the evening.
Kate Dedrick and
Claire Farrell each added four rally enders as
Zeyanna Dhalla dished out 11 assists as the Tribe hit .324 in the final frame.
Gabi Ganley led the William & Mary defense with five digs in the ultimate game.
Quotable
"We really started to find our groove late in the match. VCU is a championship team so it was a good test or us to see the level we need to bring to a game. We had six freshmen play in their first college match so that comfort level will only continue to rise. I was happy with our ability to pass and keep our offense running. Finishing the way we did certainly generates some momentum moving forward," said coach
Tim Doyle.
By the Numbers
Lauren Merrill led all hitters with 18 kills on the evening… Dedrick was the only other William & Mary player to reach double-digit knockdowns (10)...
Autumn Brenner led the team with 17 assists,
Kate Van Houten and
Zeyanna Dhalla each added 12.
Up Next
Coach Doyle's team will have the rest of the preseason to focus on the season-opening doubleheader against Qunnipiac and Morgan State on August 30. In addition to traveling to Morgan State, the Tribe will visit Xavier for a two-day tournament before hosting the Colonial Classic at Kaplan Arena on September 13-14.
