FAIRFAX, VA. - William & Mary volleyball dropped a pair of non-conference matches Saturday at the Patriot Invitational. The Tribe fell in four sets to Wake Forest and was downed in three by George Mason. The Green and Gold will head into conference play with a 4-7 record. 
 
Early in the third set of the Wake Forest match senior Autumn Brenner recorded her 2,000th career assist. Brenner is just the sixth player in William & Mary history to reach the 2,000 mark. 
 
William & Mary vs. Wake Forest
How It Happened
 
The teams would be tied at 10-10 in a tight first set when a Wake Forest service ace would give the Demon Deacons their first lead of the match. Wake would extend their lead to 15-10 behind six straight points before a service ace put a halt to the run. The Demon Deacons would add 4-0 run to cap off a 25-17 opening set win. Julia Brown ended the first frame with six kills and a .625 hitting percentage. 
 
 A pair of Tribe blocks and a pair of Kate Dedrick kills would power W&M to an early 5-4 advantage in the second stanza. The Demon Deacons would rally with a 4-0 run to take an 8-5 lead. The Tribe would battle back with a 3-0 run, cutting Wake's lead to 14-13. A pair of Anne Louise Seekford kills would tie the game at 16-16 before Brown and Claire Farrell would give the Green and Gold a 17-16 lead with a block. The Tribe would open up a 23-19 lead with a 3-0 run powered by another pair of kills from Dedrick. William & Mary would win the next two points on a kill from Lauren Merrill and a block from Brown and Dedrick to take a 25-19 second set. 
 
Trailing 1-0 in the third frame Autumn Brenner found Kate Dedrick for her 14th assist of the day. The dime was number 2,000 in the storied career of the Tribe senior. Brenner would add her first kill of the day to tie the set at 11-11, but the Decons would ride a 3-0 run to open up a 14-11 lead. The Tribe would battle back with a 3-0 run of their own to snatch an 18-17 lead. A pair of kills from Lauren Merril would give the Tribe a 21-19 lead after Wake Forest had tied the score. Wake would rally with three straight points to go-ahead 25-24, but a kill from Brown would knot the set. Wake Forest would use a pair of kills to take a 28-26 third set.
 
Aces from Brown and Gabi Ganley helped the Tribe build an early 4-1 lead in the fourth, but Wake would rally tying the game at 7-7. Later in the frame, Lauren Merrill's 10th kill of the afternoon gave the Tribe a 13-12 advantage. W&M would take an 18-17 edge on a service ace from Brenner, but Wake Forest would take the fourth set 25-22 and the match 3-1. 



 
Inside the Numbers
Autumn Brenner's 14th assist of the afternoon was her 2,000th career helper. She is one of just six William & Mary players to record at least 2,000 assists. The Tribe held Wake Forest to a .047 hitting percentage and just 10 kills in the second set. Julia Brown recorded double-digit kills for the fifth time in the past six matches. Kate Dedrick reached the 10+ kill mark for the fourth straight game, Merrill did so for the fifth time on the season. Anna Porter led the Tribe with 24 digs. 
 
Notes
The loss was the first for the Tribe in the first leg of a doubleheader. William & Mary had won their previous three such matches. Julia Brown's seven blocks were a season-high and tied a career-best. Porter has led the Tribe in digs in nine of 10 matches. 
 
William & Mary vs. George Mason
How It Happened
In the opening set the Tribe got out to a 3-1 lead, but George Mason scored six straight points to open up a 7-3 edge. After falling behind 9-5 kills from Anne Louise Seekford, Kaitlyn Ferguson, and Lauren Merrill would bring the Tribe back within two. Later the Tribe would ride a 4-0 run to gain a 17-15 lead, but Mason would answer with six straight points to build a 21-17 lead of their own. However, the Patriots would dominate the late portion of the set and take a 25-22 win. 
 
The Green and Gold earned a quick 2-1 lead, but George Mason answered with six straight points to open up a lead. The Tribe would string together three straight points later in the frame capped off by a Julia Brown ace, but it would not be enough as the Patriots coasted to a 25-15 second stanza win. 
 
George Mason used an .837 hitting percentage to jump out to an 8-4 lead in the third frame. The Patriots would take advantage of a 6-1 scoring run to extend the lead to 20-9. The Patriots would hit .500 in the third set on the way to a 25-13 win. 
 
Inside the Numbers
Julia Brown and Lauren Merrill once again led the Tribe offense with eight kills a piece. Brown recorded five blocks on the evening, her third straight match with at least five stuffs. 
Notes
The Tribe finishes the non-conference portion of play with a 4-7 record. The loss dropped William & Mary's all-time record against George Mason to 41-32. The Tribe falls to 0-3 in true road matches this season. 
 
Up Next
Next weekend the conference slate begins as the Tribe plays host to two CAA foes. William & Mary will welcome in Northeastern on Friday evening before facing Hofstra on Sunday afternoon.