WILLIAMSBURG, VA.- The Tribe fought hard for four sets but was unable to get the best of preseason CAA favorite Towson Saturday night in Kaplan Arena. The Green and Gold hit .270 as a team in the second set to best Towson but came up short in sets one, three, and four. Despite the loss, the Tribe collected 12.0 total blocks as a team against one of the better offensive hitting clubs in the CAA.
It was a milestone night for
Lauren Merrill as the William & Mary senior had a season-high five blocks and passed the 100 total block mark in her illustrious career. The Texas native now ranks 13th in total blocks under the current scoring format.
The opening set saw
Anna Porter fly all over the court collecting six of her 12 digs while picking up a pair of assists and a service ace. Unfortunately the William & Mary offense could only muster seven kills as Towson took the first frame 25-14.
In the second stanza the Tribe offense came alive for 13 total kills led by
Anne Louise Seekford who banged four of her eight kills in the 22-25 Tribe win. Seekford added an ace while
Sabrina Malcolm had three blocks to go with two kills.
In the third,
Julia Brown found an offensive rhythm crushing three of her team-high nine kills and contributing a block. Merrill also had a trio of kills without committing an error in the frame while
Kate Van Houten and
Maddie Meyers provided strong back line defense each with four digs. In the end Towson was too much in the third taking a 25-14 result.
In the final frame Brown added three more blocks and Seekford dug four of the Tribe's 11 digs but the team managed just five total kills as Towson took the 25-15 match clinching set.
Van Houten was outstanding, filling up the statsheet in her first start of the season. The junior dished out 24 assists to go with nine digs, four kills, and a pair of blocks. Seekford was close to a double double with eight kills and eight digs, while Malcolm had her second-best blocking night of her career totalling six stuffs. Meyers had a new season-high 12 digs and
Anna Lucy Black also posted a career mark with seven digs of her own.
UP NEXT: The same two teams will meet tomorrow evening for the final match of the series. The Tribe and Tigers are set for a 7:30 p.m. first serve in Kaplan Arena.
