WILLIAMSBURG, VA.- William & Mary volleyball is back on the floor this weekend for a pair of matches to close out the Spring 2021 regular season. The Tribe will visit Harrisonburg to take on James Madison at 3:00 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday afternoon. 
 
The Green and Gold enter the weekend with a 3-3 record and will look to rebound from a pair of 3-2 losses to UNCW last weekend at Kaplan Arena. The Tribe previously swept Elon at home and split a pair of matches with the College of Charleston. 
 
James Madison entered the season the preseason favorite to win the CAA South and has lived up to that ranking with a 5-2 record, 4-1 in conference on the year. After sweeping both UNCW and Chalreston, the Dukes suffered their first CAA loss Wednesday afternoon falling to Elon in four sets. 
 
Setting It Up
Sophomore Kate Van Houten has continued to be a huge factor in the Tribe's offensive success and ranks second in the league and 19 in the NCAA with an even 11.00 assists per set. Van Houten has recorded at least 40 assists in every match this season for William & Mary and has dished out at least 50 assists in four matches including a career-high 56 last time out against UCNW. Van Houten also has 17 kills on the season, nine last weekend in a pair of matches against the Seahawks. The Tribe leads the CAA with 13.07 assists per set as a team, 24 in the nation.
 
Dedrick's Dominance
Graduate student Kate Dedrick has been on fire for the Tribe putting down a team high 114 kills. Dedrick's 4.22 kills per set rank second in the conference and 39 in the nation. Dedrick has just one match this season in which she did not record double-digit kills and it is also the only match in which she did not reach the 18-kill mark. The lefty has had outings of 25, 24, and 21 kills in the 2021 season. 
 
Making Moves in the Middle
Julia Brown ranks second on the Tribe with 89 kills and has failed to reach the 10-kill mark in just one outing this season. Brown has hit over .300 in three of the Tribe's six matches this season and ranks 10 in the CAA with a .274 hitting percentage. Brown leads the team in blocks with 15, five coming last weekend. Madeleine Bertz has also been a problem for opposing middles recording multiple blocks in each of the last four W&M matches. Bertz has hit at least .333 in four matches this season. 
 
Digging It
William & Mary ranks third in the CAA as a team digging 15.63 attempts per set. The team is led by libero Anna Porter who ranks fourth in the conference with 4.85 digs per set. Porter has four matches with at least 20 digs including a career-high 28 digs in the Tribe's last outing. The sophomore leads the team with 131 digs and is trailed by Van Houten's 68 digs and Dedrick's 50. Gabi Ganley and Anne Louise Seekford have contributed 47 and 46 digs for the Tribe respectively. 
 
Double-Digit Machine
Lauren Merrill is the only member of the Tribe to reach double-digit kills in all six matches this season. Merrill is averaging 12.67 kills per outing and the outside hitter struck a season-high 19 kills last Friday against UNCW. Merrill added 11 digs in the match for her first double double of the 2021 campaign. 
 
Three Out of Ten 
Kate Dedrick (4.22, second), Julia Brown (3.30, seventh), and Lauren Merrill (2.81, ninth) all rank among the top 10 in the CAA in kills per set. The Tribe ranks second as a team putting away 13.56 kills per frame and William & Mary is the only team in the CAA to have three hitters in the top in kills per set.