WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary volleyball team swept its weekend series against Delaware with another impressive 3-1 (25-21, 25-21, 20-25, 25-23) victory at Kaplan Arena on Sunday afternoon.
As it did on Saturday, the Tribe (7-10, 3-5) claimed the first two sets before sealing the conference triumph in the fourth frame.
The win marked W&M's first season sweep against the Blue Hens (9-6, 5-3) since taking both matches in 2015.
Maddie Meyers led the Tribe with 15 kills, while
Katherine Arnason equaled a season high with 12 kills to go with five blocks.
Nicole Smith also registered a double-digit kills total with 10 putaways.
Bella Easton posted her fifth double-double of the season – and her second of the weekend – with 17 assists and 13 digs, while
Lindsay Kahren (22 digs) and
Ryann Love (six blocks, season high) came up big defensively.
The match opened with a tightly contested first set that featured 14 ties and seven lead changes. Although W&M trailed 19-16 late in the frame, it secured the set by winning nine of the final 11 points. The Green & Gold hit .273 in the opening stanza and was led by
Audrey Brcka, who totaled a team-high six kills on a .750 hitting percentage.
As was the case in the opening set, the second stanza was hard fought and the teams found themselves tied on 12 occasions with seven lead changes. The Tribe built three-point advantage multiple times and owned a 17-14 edge midway through the set before UD rallied back with a 5-1 run to take the lead. However, moments later W&M broke open a 21-21 tie with five unanswered points to claim the second frame. The Tribe hit .333 as a team.
Things looked good early in the third set, as the Tribe raced out to a 10-4 advantage. Delaware answered, though, and gradually chipped away before taking command with a 7-1 run that gave it a 18-15 edge. W&M narrowed the gap to just one on multiple occasions, but the Blue Hens scored six of the final eight points to force a fourth set. Kahren tallied seven of her game-high 22 digs in the frame.
As it did in the third set, W&M built a commanding advantage early in the fourth stanza and jumped out to a 9-2 lead. However, Delaware used runs of 5-0 and 4-0 to gradually cut into the lead and tied the score at 17-17. After W&M broke open a 21-21 tie with three straight points, the Tribe answered back-to-back points by Delaware with a block assist by
Ryann Love and Arnason to secure the victory. Meyers finished the set with a team-high six kills, while Arnason tallied five kills on a .364 hitting percentage.
Amy Schwem also came up big with eight assists.
The Tribe will continue its CAA slate when it looks to extend its winning streak at Charleston next weekend.
