CINCINNATI, Ohio- William & Mary fell 3-1 to Xavier Saturday morning in Cincinnati. The loss dropped the Tribe to 2-3 on the season while the Musketeers improved to 3-1. The teams traded wins int he opening two sets, but Xavier would take the final two frames to put away the victory. With the loss, the Tribe finish the weekend 1-2. The Green and Gold defeated Akron Friday morning and lost to Wright State Friday afternoon. Junior Kate Dedrick was named to the All-Tournament Team with 27 kills on the weekend. 



How It Happened
Xavier rushed out to a 25-10 first set victory behind a .444 hitting percentage. Junior Julia Brown hit .375 while killing three balls in the opening stanza. The Tribe would bounce back taking the second frame for a 25-21 win behind 14 kills and a .414 hitting percentage. Kaitlyn Ferguson led the way for the Green and Gold with four kills. The Musketeers led the whole way in the third and would build a 24-20 advantage. However, the Tribe would rally to tie the game at 24-24, but Xavier would take the next two points for a 26-24 set win. The Musketeers would pull away for a 25-11 fourth set win to clinch the 3-1 victory. 
 
Inside the Numbers
Julia Brown and Lauren Merrill led the way for the William & Mary offense with 11 kills apiece. For the first time this season the Tribe had two players (Autumn Brenner, 21 and Kate Van Houten, 15) dish out double-digit assists. Anna Porter paced the Tribe with 10 digs. The Freshman has led the Tribe in digs in all five matches this season. The Tribe hit .414 in their second set win, the highest percentage for any set this season. 
 
Notes
The match marked the first start of the season for sophomore Anne Louise Seekford. The meeting was the first all-time between Xavier and William & Mary. The Tribe ran a two-setter formation for the first time this season with Autumn Brenner and Kate Van Houten splitting time on the floor. Brenner led the team with 21 assists, her fifth straight match with at least 20 helpers. The 3-1 loss was the first four-set match for William & Mary this season. The Tribe has had a pair of both three-set and five-set matches. The defeat drops the Tribe's record in morning matches to 2-1. Kate Dedrick was named to the All-Tournament team, racking up 27 kills on the weekend. The honor is Dedrick's second straight All-Tournament selection. 
 
Quotable
"We started and finished the match like we were underdogs; we need a more aggressive approach into the game," said Tim Doyle. "We played really well in a few stretches but weren't consistent enough to earn a win. We have to use this as fuel to improve and I hope our group learns from this bump in the road." 
 
Up Next
Next week the Tribe will host Georgetown, Iona, and UNCG for the Colonial Classic. William & Mary will face the UNCG Spartans Friday evening before taking on the Gaels and Hoyas Saturday at Kaplan Arena.