WILLIAMSBURG, VA.- Despite a match-high 24 kills from
Kate Dedrick, William & Mary was downed in five sets by UNCW for the second straight day Saturday afternoon at Kaplan Arena. The Tribe took the first two sets but could not hold off the Seahawks' comeback in the 3-2 defeat.
W&M exploded out of the gate with a furious 25-21 first set win that saw the home team smack 20 kills. Dedrick recorded her first eight kills of the day in the set and
Lauren Merrill added six as
Kate Van Houten dished out 16 first frame assists.
UNCW would open up a 6-2 lead in the second set but W&M would fight back and eventually take a 16-15 lead and not trail again in the frame. Van Houten tossed out another 14 assists as the Tribe put down 17 kills in a 25-22 win.
Unfortunately, the Tribe would not be able to capitalize on the 2-0 lead as UNCW led the entire way for a 25-21 set three win. The Seahawks held the Tribe to just a .048 hitting percentage in the third. The Tribe would bounce back to hit .235 in the fourth set but it would not be enough as UNCW took advantage of a late 3-0 run to pull away to a 25-22 win to force a deciding fifth.
The final frame was all UNCW as the Tribe was held to just three kills on 21 attack attempts. The Seahawks held a close 5-4 lead but utilized a seven point run to bust open the set. The visitors would win 10 of the final 11 points for a 15-5 final set win.
Dedrick led all hitters with 24 kills on the afternoon, the third 20-plus kill performance from the graduate student on the season. Van Houten's 50 assists marked her fourth match of the year dishing out at least 50 dimes. The sophomore set a new career high with 21 digs in the loss.
Anna Porter was solid defensively with a new career high 28 digs and eight assists adding a service ace and
Lauren Merrill finished with 13 kills to extend her double-digit kill streak to six matches.
Julia Brown had a strong afternoon with 14 kills and four blocks.
The Tribe will close out the regular season next weekend with a pair of matches at James Madison.
