WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Opening the doors of Kaplan Arena for the first time in the 2023 season, William & Mary volleyball (6-5, 1-0 CAA) secured a victory in a five-set thriller over Charleston (3-9, 0-1 CAA) Saturday.

The Tribe's home opener, which doubled as its conference opener, snapped their three-game losing streak and Head Coach Ryan Adams secured his first CAA win with a final score of 3-2 (24-26, 25-22, 25-13, 16-25, 15-10).

After the Cougars evened the match score after four sets, the Tribe worked up a 6-0 lead to start the decisive fifth set. Without allowing a tied score or lead change in the final frame, the Green and Gold held onto their first conference win in dominant fashion.

Taylor Burrell continued her hot streak with a career-best 23 kills, setting a season single-game high for the Tribe and leading both teams in the match.

A pair of double-doubles highlighted the Tribe's performance, as Amy Schwem racked up a season-best 31 assists and 14 digs and Sarah Callender recorded 14 digs with 11 kills. Emma Minnick was a dig shy of her own double-double, posting 16 assists and nine digs in the match.

Following the Cougars' win in the first set, the Tribe battled back as Burrell added seven kills Minnick capped the second set to tie up the match, 1-1, with a service ace. An 8-0 run in the third frame extended the Tribe to a 17-6 lead over the Cougars as Schwem added three aces and Olivia Esposito barreled one of her six kills.

Twice, getting the first point in a set and not allowing a lead change, the Tribe were in control of the third and fifth frames en route to the win. W&M hit .300 or greater as a team in each of the two sets and held the Cougars to a .031 hitting percentage in the dominant third set.

Olivia Esposito continued her impressive block game, adding five to her team-leading total of 38 over 27 sets, and averaging 1.41 blocks per set on the season.

The Tribe continues their conference opening weekend on their home court with a second matchup against Charleston on Sunday at 2 p.m., looking to make a statement with a two-win weekend.
 
FAST FORWARD
The Tribe will be back on the road to continue conference play as they travel to Campbell and Hampton. First, the Green and Gold will head south to North Carolina for a pair of matches against the Fighting Camels on Saturday, Sept. 23 (1 p.m.) and Sunday, Sept. 24 (1 p.m.), before returning to the Commonwealth to take on Hampton Saturday, Sept.30 (1 p.m.) and Oct. 1 (1 p.m.).

Following their four-game road trip, W&M will play host once again, welcoming Elon to Kaplan Arena for two 2 p.m. weekend matches on Oct. 7-8.
 
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