WILLIAMSBURG, Va.- William & Mary volleyball is back at Kaplan Arena this weekend to kick off a 16-match conference slate. The Tribe will host Northeastern at 7:00 p.m. and face Hofstra in a 1:00 matinee Sunday afternoon.
Hear what coach
Tim Doyle had to say about setter
Autumn Brenner's recent milestone, the importance of winning at home during conference play, and much more
here.
Scouting the Tribe
Coach Doyle's squad enters the conference portion of the season with a 4-7 record. The Tribe has played well in Kaplan Arena, going 2-1 at the Colonial Classic earlier in September. Through 11 matches the Tribe has been extremely balanced offensively with seven players averaging at least one kill per set. William & Mary has taken advantage of point-scoring opportunities from the service line with 55 aces led by
Autumn Brenner (15) and
Lauren Merrill (10). The Tribe has been stingy defensively limiting the opposition to just over 12 kills per set in large part thanks to
Julia Brown's 1.29 blocks per set. Brown has been helped at the net by
Kate Dedrick who has posted 25 blocks and true freshman
Kaitlyn Ferguson who has 20 send backs in just eight career starts. Things do not get any easier past the block as seven W&M players are averaging at least one dig per set.
Scouting the Huskies
Northeastern enters conference play with an even 6-6 record. The Huskies are 1-2 in true road games this season and are coming off a 1-1 weekend with a win over Harvard and loss to Syracuse. Northeastern's success has come on the defensive side of the net, getting the best of the opposition in both digs and blocks per set. Brianna Daphins has been a force offensively with 120 kills and a .280 hitting percentage. Northeastern was predicted to finish fifth in the CAA preseason poll.
Scouting the Pride
The Pride has been successful early in the season with a strong attack and stingy defense. Hofstra has only allowed an average of 10 kills per set while racking up over 13 on their own side of the net. Lauren Masciullo is the Pride's most potent attacker with 3.80 kills per frame. Louisa Sydlik ranks first in the CAA and 30st nationally with over 11 assists per set (499 overall). Hofstra struggles at the block as opponents own a 2.38 to 1.39 advantage over the Pride in stuffs at the net. Hofstra was voted to finish second in the CAA preseason poll.
Series History
Friday will mark the 30th all-time meeting between the Tribe and Northeastern. The Huskies currently hold a 19-10 advantage in the overall series and are currently riding a six-match winning streak. Hofstra holds a 28-18 all-time advantage over William & Mary with the Tribe's last win in the series coming in the 2013 season.
Leading The Offensive Attack
The Green and Gold's offense is led by juniors
Julia Brown and
Kate Dedrick who each have 105 kills and sophomore
Lauren Merrill with 103 smashes. Each of the trio has led the Tribe in kills in at least three matches this season. Brown leads all William & Mary attackers with seven matches of at least 10 kills. Dedrick and Merrill have reached double-digits six and five times respectively. The trio makes the Tribe one of just two teams (Elon) to boast three players with at least 100 kills through non-conference play.
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Defensive Duo
Tribe middle blocker
Julia Brown has been a force in the middle of the William & Mary defense and a big reason the team is averaging nearly 2.00 blocks per set. Brown ranks first in the CAA averaging 1.29 stuffs per set and has recorded at least five blocks in eight of the Tribe's 11 matches. The junior tied a career-high with seven blocks in four sets of action against Wake Forest this weekend.
Anna Porter enters the weekend with 152 digs, sixth-most in the CAA. The freshman libero has led the Tribe in digs in 10 of the first 11 matches of the season. This past weekend, Porter averaged 5.20 digs per set on her way to being named to the Patriot Invitational All-Tournament Team. Porter has recorded at least 20 digs in four matches and has double-digit digs in all but three Tribe contests. Her 4.00 digs per set on the season is the best among all CAA freshmen.
Weekend Schedule
Friday- Tribe vs. Northeastern 7:00 p.m.
Sunday- Tribe vs. Hofstra 1:00 p.m.
