CHARLOTTE, N.C.— The William & Mary volleyball team closed out their non-conference slate on Saturday, falling to Davidson 3-1 (14-25, 22-25, 25-19, 22-25) at the Queens Fall Classic in Charlotte.
 
The Wildcats jumped out to a 12-6 lead early in the first set, leading to a Tribe timeout. Davidson kept their momentum, pushing their scoring run to 7-1, before Ryann Love cashed in a kill to make it 16-8.
 
Deveraux Hoxsie picked up a solo block, capping what was three consecutive W&M points, but the Wildcats responded with a 3-0 run of their own to go up 20-11 forcing the second Tribe timeout.
 
They would go on to win the set 25-14. Davidson used a .600 hitting percentage to spur them on to a first set victory.
 
Olivia Esposito, Audrey Brcka and Hoxsie each had a pair of kills to lead the Tribe.
 
Katherine Arnason picked up a kill to give W&M an early 2-1 lead in set two.
 
The two sides traded points until the Wildcats embarked on another run, this time a 4-0 spurt, that was eventually ended by a Brcka kill to make it 10-7.
 
Arnason added another kill later to cut the Davidson lead to three again, at 14-11.
 
Esposito and Hoxsie picked up points to spark a 4-0 run and make the Wildcat lead just 21-19, forcing a timeout.
 
The Tribe held their momentum through the pause in the action, capping their run at 6-1 with a block from Nicole Smith and Esposito to tie it at 22-all.
 
Davidson would regroup, however, rattling off three straight points to take set two, 25-22, and a 2-0 lead.
 
W&M rebounded to start the third set, with Maddie Meyers, Hoxsie and Smith grabbing kills as the Tribe sprinted out to a 9-3 lead to force a Davidson timeout.
 
The Wildcats found their footing after the timeout, battling back to make it 12-9.
 
Later a kill by Smith, her fourth of the day, and a trio of kills from Meyers pushed the Tribe advantage to 23-13.
 
Davidson tried to surge back, but was unable to complete the comeback, as the Tribe took the set 25-19.
 
The fourth set was the most nip and tuck of the day, with the teams trading points back and forth. W&M earned some breathing room after an ace by Bella Easton gave them an 11-8 lead.
 
The Tribe never could expand the lead past three however, leading again at 16-13, 19-16 and 21-18, coming from kills by Esposito and Smith and a Wildcats error.
 
Following the latter, Davidson called a timeout and was able to regroup successfully, going on a 7-1 run to win the set 25-22 and take the match 3-1.
 
Three Tribe players, Meyers, Smith and Arnason, had nine kills apiece to lead the way. Amy Schwem dished out 22 assists for W&M, while Bella Easton chipped in 18.
 
Up Next
The Tribe will kick off their conference schedule with a two-game set against Towson in Maryland. The matches are set for Saturday and Sunday at 6 p.m. and 2 p.m. respectively and will be broadcast on FloVolleyball.