This weekend, William and Mary concluded its regular season with two home games against Colonial Athletic Association opponents. Friday, the Tribe (5-20, 1-15 CAA) fell 3-0 to College of Charleston (19-10, 10-5 CAA). Sunday, the College’s final contest of the season, it fell 3-1 to North Carolina-Wilmington (15-11, 8-8 CAA).
The Tribe started off strong against the Cougars in the first set, but was unable to take a lead in the set after tying the score at 4-4. Freshman outside hitter Lauren Merrill and sophomore middle blocker Julia Brown saw strong kills, but the College ultimately dropped the set 25-15. The Tribe was unable to take a single lead in the second set. A nine-point run put Charleston up 19-6. The College’s next point came off a kill by sophomore opposite hitter Kate Dedrick, who then had a hand in a point-winning block with Brown. The Tribe’s final point of the set was a hard hit by freshman outside hitter Claire Farrell off a senior setter Katie Kemp assist, before the Cougars claimed the second set 25-10.
In the third and final set, the College took its first lead of the game, jumping ahead 1-0 off a successful attack by Farrell. A kill by Merrill gave the Tribe its second lead, 2-1. Another strong hit by Farrell gave the College it’s third and final lead of the game, 3-2. The Cougars ignited a five-point run, putting them up 10-4, a deficit the Tribe could not come back from. The College dropped the final set 25-18. Following this match, Merrill notched her third double-double of the season, and sophomore libero Lauren Moussaid has recorded double-figure digs in 11 of her last 12 appearances.
Sunday, the Tribe jumped ahead to an early 1-0 lead over the Seahawks, but ultimately fell 3-1. The College stole an early 3-0 advantage thanks to a service ace by Moussaid and two kills by Brown. The Tribe kept its lead for the entirety of the first set, solidifying the 25-20 win on a kill by Merrill. Despite jumping to another early lead, 2-0, the Seahawks were ready to fight. Back-and-forth scoring continued throughout the entirety of the second set. They eventually tied up the set 17-17 and took off with their own lead, which the Tribe could not break. The Seahawks took the second set 25-20.
The College lost its momentum going into the third set, falling behind 9-0. The Tribe pulled its way back into the contest, behind only by four points. Back-and-forth scoring persisted, but the College was unable to take a lead in the set, falling 25-19. The fourth set started out a lot like the third with the Seahawks taking an early 4-0 advantage. The Tribe finally took the lead, 11-10, on an attack error by the Seahawks. The College was able to tie up the set a few more times, but was unable to take another lead, dropping a competitive final set 25-21.
Merrill led the offense with 20 kills, followed by junior outside hitter Casey Foote with 13 and brown with 11. Kemp contributed 39 assists and Moussaid had 29 digs.
This marks the end of the Tribe’s 2018 season, in which it secured a single conference win. The young team will look to improve on its record and make it into post-season play next season.
