BOONE, N.C. – The William & Mary volleyball team hits the road to open its 2023 campaign Friday in the Mountaineer Classic at Appalachian State University.
The squad, composed of 15 returners and four incoming freshmen, will face their first regular season opponents under the leadership of Head Coach
Ryan Adams.
All three matches will be available for streaming on ESPN+ and live stats will be broadcast for each event.
WE OVER ME
William & Mary volleyball is embracing the "We over Me" mentality for the 2023 season to illustrate how team ideals shape the culture of The Tribe. Student-athletes gathered in the off-season to define which values best represent the team, including respect, accountability, commitment to growth and more. "We over Me" emphasizes the importance of teamwork and trust in one another that The Tribe is committed to personifying.
FRESH FACES
Head Coach Adams and Assistant Coach
Elise Montemayor joined the William & Mary coaching staff ahead of the 2023 season. Adams arrived from Lafayette College, where he spent four seasons as head coach and was named Patriot League Coach of the Year in 2021. Montemayor served as an assistant volleyball coach for two years at Christopher Newport University before coming to W&M.
Tribe volleyball also welcomes a quartet of freshman to the team. Defensive specialist/libero
Tulasi Nalluri, outside hitter
Audrey Brcka, right side
Katherine Arnason and middle blocker
Amber Jarecki-Meyers bring depth and new talent to William & Mary.
& FAMILIAR FACES
Fifteen returners compose the majority of The Tribe's roster, spearheaded by the duo of outside hitter
Eleanor Stothoff and opposite
Taylor Burrell, last season's leaders in points, points per set, kills and kills per set.
Sabrina Malcolm landed in the top three on the team in points with 232 and
Sarah Callender's 2.91 points per set was a top-three mark. Also returning are the team's leaders in hitting percentage in
Kaitlyn Dunnigan and
Ryann Love.
Stothoff was named to the 2023 Preseason All-CAA Team following her sophomore second-team All-CAA campaign in which she was sixth in the CAA anf nationally ranked at No. 220 with 3.19 kills per set. Last season, Stothoff recorded 284 total kills with 15-plus kills in 10 matches.
Love was tabbed VaSID Rookie of the Year and named to the CAA All-Rookie team following the 2022 season.
MEET THE OPPONENTS
App State – W&M volleyball has an all-time 3-2 record against App State, spanning back to 1975. In the last 15 years, the teams have met just three times. The Tribe took the first two meetings each with a score of 3-1 and, most recently, fell just short in five sets. Traveling to Boone, North Carolina, for the first time since 2011, The Tribe look to extend their all-time series lead.
The Mountaineers are coming off an 18-10 season in 2022, with a pair of notable returners in Maya Winterhoff and McCall Denny. Both Winterhoff and Denny were named to the Preseason All-Sunbelt Conference Team and earned All-SBC honors last season. Winterhoff was also named the SBC Freshman of the Year.
Tennessee Tech – Tennessee Tech and William & Mary have met three times in program history. The teams return to the site of their most recent matchup, a five-set showdown at App State in 2009 which ended in a Golden Eagles victory. A Tribe win would even the all-time series 2-2.
The Golden Eagles produced a 17-14 campaign in 2022, reaching the quarterfinals in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. Three Tennessee Tech returners garnered honors from the OVC last season, as Jordan Karlen was named both Setter and Freshman of the Year while earning First Team All-Conference. She was joined by outside hitter Madolyn Isringhausen and middle blocker Skylar Boon on the All-OVC teams.
Bellarmine – William & Mary will face Bellarmine volleyball for the first time in program history in its lone Saturday match.
The Knights finished their 2022 season with a 10-18 record under the leadership of Head Coach Rick Nold in his first season. Bellarmine's squad features 10 returners, including senior defensive specialist Anna Lococo, who reached the 1000 dig mark in her third year with the Knights.
FAST FORWARD
The Tribe will return to Virginia for a midweek matchup at Old Dominion Tuesday, August 29th and then travel to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, for the Bucknell Invitational the following weekend.
On September 16th and 17th, William & Mary will host College of Charleston for the 2023 home opener at Kaplan Arena to begin conference play.
