WILLIAMSBURG, Va.- The William & Mary volleyball team heads back on the road this weekend for three games in Cincinnati at the Xavier University Tournament. The Tribe will face Akron and Wright State on Friday before taking on the host Musketeers Saturday morning.  
 
Hear from head coach Tim Doyle as he breaks down the Tribe's five-set win over Quinnipiac, the importance of getting strong play from veteran players, and preparing for three matches in a 24-hour span. The video feature is available through the above link or by clicking here. 


 

Game Day Information - Game 3 vs. Akron | Game 4 vs. Wright State | Game 5 at Xavier
When	Friday, Sept. 6 | 11 AM - Friday, Sept. 6 | 4 PM Saturday, Sept. 7 | 11 AM
Where	Cincinnati, Ohio
Venue	Cintas Center
How to Follow	Friday (Both Matches) - Live Stats Saturday - Live Stats | Live Video
Social Media	W&M Volleyball Twitter W&M Volleyball Facebook W&M Volleyball Instagram W&M Athletics Facebook W&M Athletics Instagram W&M Athletics Twitter #OurStateOurTribe #GoTribe
Stats	William & Mary | Akron | Wright State | Xavier | CAA

 

Scouting the Tribe
William & Mary enters the weekend 1-1 after splitting a pair of five-set matches with Quinnipiac and Morgan State last Friday in Baltimore. The Tribe offense was led by 31 kills from Lauren Merrill. The sophomore earned a double-double with 14 kills and 11 digs in a winning effort against Quinnipiac and added 17 kills against Morgan State. Julia Brown and Kate Dedrick added 22 and 24 kills on the weekend while hitting .240 and .390 respectively. The effort earned Dedrick a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Anne Louise Seekford slammed eight kills in four sets of play against Morgan State. Autumn Brenner captained the offense dishing out 93 assists over two matches.  Defensively the Tribe provided 1.50 blocks per set, holding the opposition to a .208 hitting percentage. Freshman Anna Porter has anchored the backline of the William & Mary defense recording 30 digs in 10 sets of play. Overall 10 members of the Tribe saw action in the opening weekend with Madeleine Bertz, Autumn Brenner, Julia Brown, Kate Dedrick, Claire Farrell, Gabi Ganley, Lauren Merrill and Anna Porter playing all 10 sets. 
 
Scouting the Zips
Akron started 1-2 on the season defeating Bryant but dropping matches to San Diego State and Florida Gulf Coast. The Zips have hit .157 while allowing opponents to strike for a .259 percentage. Akron has five players that have already reached the 20-dig mark on defense, and offensively Ashley Richardson leads the way hitting .313 with 20 kills. 
 
Scouting the Raiders
The Wright State Raiders defeated La Salle and host Notre Dame at the Golden Dome Invitational on their way to a 2-1 opening weekend. Freshman libero Jenna Story recorded 87 digs helping the Raiders limit the opposition to a .182 hitting percentage. Teddie Sauer hit .348 on her way to 42 kills over the weekend. Both Story and Sauer earned Horizon League honors. 
 
Scouting the Musketeers
Xavier enters the weekend 2-1 on the season after falling to Southern Utah before defeating Utah State and Eastern Michigan last weekend. The Musketeers have hit .240 as a team while holding opponents to a .210 percentage. Freshman Lauren Hanlon leads all Xavier players with 40 kills while sophomore Jada Clayton leads the defense with 10 blocks. MaryAnn O'Toole and Alyssa Overbeck have 48 and 43 digs respectively for a defense that averages 14.68 digs per set. 
 
Series History
This weekend will mark the first meeting between the Tribe and both Xavier and Wright State. The Tribe defeated Akron 3-0 in the team's lone meeting in 1987. 
 
Record Setter
Senior Autumn Brenner posted 93 assists over the opening weekend to give her a career total of 1,829. The Virginia native moved into sixth place in William & Mary history passing Kathy Bell and Cassie Crumal on the career assists list. 
 
Fresh Faces
True Freshmen Gabi Ganley and Anna Porter both played in all 10 sets over the weekend. Porter led all members of the Tribe with 30 digs and added a pair of service aces and assists. Ganley recorded nine digs of her own to go with two aces. 
 
Pacing The CAA
Brenner's 93 assists rank fifth-best in the conference and her 9.30 assists per set are good for fourth-best in the CAA. Middle Blocker Julia Brown ranks fifth among all CAA attackers with a .390 hitting percentage. Sophomore Lauren Merrill leads the Green and Gold with 31 kills averaging to 3.10 per set, eighth-best in the CAA. 
 
Homecoming For Doyle
The trip to Cincinnati will be a homecoming of sorts for Tribe head coach Tim Doyle. The second-year skipper is an Ohio native and played collegiately two hours northeast of Cincinnati in Columbus at Ohio State. Doyle earned both his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Ohio State and served as an assistant coach for the Buckeyes for two seasons. 
 
Looking Forward
This weekend will mark the Tribe's final road trip before returning home for the Colonial Classic. William & Mary will host Georgetown, Iona, and UNCG at Kaplan Arena on September 13-14 to kick off an 11-match home schedule.