STONY BROOK, N.Y. — William & Mary edged out Stony Brook in a five-set thriller, winning 25-20, 20-25, 23-25, 25-20, 16-14 at Pritchard Gymnasium on Friday evening, for its first CAA victory of the year.

William & Mary (6-8, 1-2 CAA) opened the first set with a strong offensive performance, establishing a 3-0 lead with kills from Audrey Brcka, Olivia Esposito, and Beatriz Silva. Despite the efforts of Stony Brook (7-7, 3-2 CAA) to narrow the gap, the Tribe maintained control, with Silva facilitating key plays, including a service ace and multiple assists that helped push the score to 12-9.

Midway through the set, W&M extended their lead to 20-14, capitalizing on Stony Brook's attack errors and effective blocks by Nicole Smith and Olivia Westfort. Katherine Arnason and Smith contributed crucial kills, keeping the momentum on the Green and Gold's side.

As the set drew to a close, Sophia Van Name delivered a kill and a service ace, securing a 25-20 set victory for W&M. The team finished the set with a steady performance, keeping Stony Brook at bay and closing the set with a decisive score.

The second set began with William & Mary taking an early lead as Silva's effective setting facilitated kills from Arnason and Esposito. The Tribe maintained a slight edge throughout the initial exchanges, with Westfort contributing with a block and a kill to keep the momentum balanced at 8-6. However, service errors allowed Stony Brook to stay within reach, and a service ace by Madison Cigna brought the score to 8-8.

Midway through the set, William & Mary regained control momentarily with kills from Van Name and Brcka, edging ahead 15-13. Stony Brook responded with a series of successful plays, swinging the momentum back as they took a 17-15 lead. Despite William & Mary's efforts, including another kill from Arnason, Stony Brook capitalized on Tribe errors to extend their lead and pulled away to win 25-20.

William & Mary began the third set with strong offensive play, highlighted by early kills from Brcka and Smith, establishing a narrow lead. Stony Brook responded, managing to tie the score multiple times as the teams exchanged points. A critical service ace by Brcka allowed W&M to pull ahead temporarily at 14-12.

Following this, the Seawolves surged with a series of kills, pushing them to a 20-14 lead. William & Mary, however, fought back with a 6-2 run featuring key defensive stops and multiple kills from Westfort, narrowing the gap to 22-21. Despite their efforts, the Tribe couldn't retain the lead, and Stony Brook closed the set with a 25-23 win.

William & Mary began the fourth set with a commanding start, capitalizing on three consecutive attack errors by Stony Brook to lead 3-0. Silva then set up Damisi Osibodu for a kill, followed by Silva's service ace, extending the lead to 5-0. SBU responded briefly with a kill from Pierre Louis, but W&M maintained momentum, with Smith contributing three kills to push the score to 10-1.

Stony Brook attempted a comeback with kills from Mopelola Ojo, narrowing the gap to 10-4. However, William & Mary responded by continuing their strong offensive play. Osibodu and Arnason added crucial points, bolstering the visitors' lead to 20-16. Despite Stony Brook's late attempts to close the deficit, the Tribe secured the set with Brcka's final kill, completing a 25-20 victory in the fourth set.

William & Mary began the fifth set with a strong start, capitalizing on a Seawolves' service error to take an early 1-0 lead. Brcka contributed back-to-back service aces, pushing the lead to 3-0. Smith followed with two kills, extending the Tribe's advantage to 5-2.

Stony Brook mounted a comeback, narrowing the gap to 9-9 with a service ace. However, William & Mary regained momentum with a kill by Arnason, making it 11-10, and a key block from Osibodu and Arnason pushed the lead to 12-10.

The set remained closely contested, with SBU tying it at 14-14. William & Mary responded decisively as Silva's kill and a Seawolves' attack error closed the set, securing a 16-14 win for William & Mary.

STAT NUGGETS

• Smith and Arnason led the way with 13 kills apiece.
• Brcka tallied five service aces.
• Silva poured in a season-best 26 assists.
• Westfort added nine kills and six total blocks (two solo)
• Horejsi matched her career-high with 29 digs.
• This was W&M's first five-set match of the season.
• The Tribe's 56 kills as a team was a season-high.

UP NEXT
The Tribe will rematch with Stony Brook on Saturday at 1 p.m.