CHARLESTON, S.C.- Kate Dedrick slammed home 21 kills and Anna Porter had 22 digs but it was not enough as the College of Charleston won the first leg of a pair of games between the Tribe (2-1) and the Cougars (2-1) Saturday afternoon in South Carolina. It was the second time this season that Dedrick has had at least 20 kills in a match. 
 
The Tribe saw three players reach double digit kills as Dedrick was joined by Julia Brown (12) and Lauren Merrill (10). Each member trio has all reached double figures in all three of the Tribe's matches this season. Kate Van Houten continued a strong season dishing out 44 assists and scooping seven digs. The sophomore's 12.58 assists per set rank tops in the nation. 
 
The Cougars took the first set 25-19 holding the Tribe to just a .162 hitting percentage. Kate Van Houten had eight assists in the opening frame and Dedrick and Julia Brown both slammed home four kills. Porter led the Tribe with five digs in the first. 
 
A late push from William & Mary in the form of a 4-0 scoring run was not enough to close the gap as Charleston took the second set 25-22. The Cougars had four blocks in the frame and held the Tribe to just .125 hitting but had no answer for Dedrick as the lefty had eight kills in the set. 
 
The Tribe started the third with a 3-0 scoring run and ended the frame in the same fashion to polish off a 25-21 set win. Van Houten dished out 11 assists as Dedrick continued to dominate with six kills. Lauren Merrill added four kills of her own and Porter chipped in seven digs to extend the match. 
 
William & Mary was unable to ride the momentum of set three into the final frame as Charleston jumped out to an early lead and capitalized on the Tribe hitting just .045 in the fourth and cruised to a 25-19 match-clinching win. Van Houten tacked on 10 more assists and Porter chipped in five final digs in the final set. 
 
The Tribe will get a second chance at the Cougars as the two teams will meet again tomorrow afternoon for a 2:00 p.m. showdown in Charleston.