WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — The William & Mary volleyball team will return to action in Baltimore this weekend as they play in the UMBC Tournament. The action will start with a Friday doubleheader against Old Dominion (10 a.m.) and host school UMBC (7 p.m.), followed by a single match Saturday against Maryland at 12:30 p.m.
The contest at UMBC will be streamed on America East TV. Fans can follow all other games through live stats and by following @WMTribeVB on social media.
OPENING WEEKEND
The Tribe split a pair of matches at the Winthrop Tournament last weekend, sweeping Charlotte 3-0 on Friday in the season opener before falling to Davidson 3-1 on Saturday. The win over Charlotte marked W&M's first sweep of a non-conference foe since Sep. 2, 2023 against Niagara.
BLOCK PARTY
W&M leads the nation in blocks per set with an average of 3.86. The Tribe stuffed Charlotte 10 times and added 17 more against Davidson, the latter tied for the third-most blocks in a four-set match this season.
Individually, the Tribe has three of the top four CAA leaders in blocks per set in
Ryann Love (2.14),
Katherine Arnason (1.57), and
Olivia Esposito (1.14). Love's 15 total blocks also leads the league. Her opening performance earned her All-Winthrop Tournament Team honors.
DROPPING DIMES
Freshman setter
Shylah Swope had no trouble getting acclimated to collegiate competition at the Winthrop Tournament, racking up 38 assists. That's the most helpers by a Tribe freshman in the first two games of her career since Autumn Brenner in 2016 (91). Swope's 5.43 assists per set ranks top-10 in the CAA.
MAJOR MILESTONE
Speaking of assists, graduate setter
Beatriz Silva picked up her 1,000th assist at the Division I level with her first helper in the opening set against the 49ers. Silva did not need long to reach the milestone with the Green & Gold, having tallied 999 assists during her two-year stint at UC Riverside. The Redlands, Calif. native had 23 assists in total over the two matches.
YEARS IN THE MAKING
Libero
Avery Horejsi recorded a career-high 21 digs in the match against Davidson on Saturday, surpassing her previous high of 16. Horejsi was playing her first volleyball matches in three years, as she missed the previous two seasons due to injury.
PRESEASON PROSPECTUS
W&M had a pair of seniors named to the Preseason All-CAA squad in middle blocker
Olivia Esposito and outside hitter
Nicole Smith. For Esposito, it marked her second straight year earning preseason all-conference accolades. William & Mary was one of two programs (Hofstra and Towson) to have multiple players selected. It is also the first since 2010 that multiple Tribe players have earned preseason recognition.
The Green & Gold was predicted to finish sixth in the CAA coaches' poll.
LIVIN' IT UP
Esposito returns as a key cog in the middle. She played in 20 matches last season and racked up 81.0 blocks for a team-best average of 1.04 blocks per set. Esposito also added 89 kills and posting a .284 hitting percentage. The Carversville, Pa. native had a breakout sophomore campaign in 2023 that saw her earn Second Team All-CAA honors after leading the league in blocks per set (1.27) and hitting percentage (.367), the latter standing as a single-season school record. Her .329 career hitting percentage is also a program record.
HEY HEY, HEY NIKKI
Smith recorded 250 kills in her junior season, ranking second on the Tribe. She posted an average of 2.63 kills per set across 95 sets played, adding 81 digs and 34.0 blocks.
EXPERIENCED VETS
Senior libero
Kaitlyn Dunnigan returns from last year's squad. Dunnigan is the most experienced of the bunch, having played in 61 career matches and 199 sets. Esposito (56) and Smith (53) are next in terms of matches played. Dunnigan tallied 213 digs last season, by far the most among Tribe returners.
SIZING UP THE COMPETITION
The four-team, two-day tournament features UMBC, Maryland, Old Dominion, and the Tribe.
ODU is in search of its first win, having dropped three matches last weekend at the Quest for the Crown tournament in Norfolk, Va. UMBC has split its two matches, falling to Kansas State 3-0 and defeating Delaware 3-1. Maryland is 0-2 with losses coming to Coastal Carolina (2-3) and North Carolina (1-3).
