WILLIAMSBURG, VA.- Despite career days from Anne Lousie Seekford and Kate Van Houten and strong efforts offensively from Julia Brown and Lauren Merrill, William & Mary fell 3-2 in a five set affair to UNCW Friday at Kaplan Arena. The Tribe took the second and third sets but were unable to put the Seahawks away as the visitors took the final two frames in a winning effort. 
 
UNCW dominated the first set from the start busting out to a 10-1 lead. The Tribe battled back but it would not be enough as the Seahawks took a 25-18 first frame. Van Houten had 11 of her 56 assists in the opening game and Seekford provided the offense with four kills. 
 
In the second, the Tribe trailed 13-16 before scoring the next three points to tie the score. A pair of kills from Madeleine Bertz and Kate Dedrick would boost the Tribe to a 25-22 set to even the match. Brown busted out for five kills in the frame and Dedrick added four kills including the set clincher. Anna Porter had seven of her 23 digs in the second stanza. 
 
The third set saw the Tribe jump all over UNCW to open up a 7-1 lead. However, the Seahawks would not come back and eventually take a 24-20 lead serving for the set. A pair of attacking errors from the Seahawks and kills from Merrill knotted the game at 24-24 and the Tribe would eventually win the set 28-26 punctuated by a block from Bertz. 
 
The fourth set was tightly contested as the teams battled to a 16-16 tie before a three-point UNCW run gave the Seahawks the separation they would need to cruise to a 25-22 win forcing a deciding fifth set. Merrill continued her hot attacking firing off seven kills and Brown added five as Dedrick and Seekford recorded five digs. 
 
The Tribe and Seahawks played a very close fifth set but it would be UNCW coming away with a 15-12 win to take the match. Julia Brown made an impact with four kills in the final frame and Maddie Meyers had a solo block in the losing effort. 
 
Kate Van Houten directed the offense all night for the Tribe and dished out a career-high 56 assists and added six kills in the match. For the second straight outing, Anne Louise Seekford set a career mark this time delivering 20 digs to compliment eight kills. 
 
Julia Brown was unstoppable all afternoon racking up 21 kills hitting .405 in her first 20-plus kill effort of the 2021 season. Lauren Merrill added a season high 19 kills and 11 digs for her first double-double of the year. 
 
The same two teams will get together tomorrow at noon for the second game of the two-game set. The Tribe will look to even the series in their final match in Kaplan Arena this season.