On a weekend in which it could have proved itself, William and Mary left many questions unanswered.
The Tribe (4-5) dropped two matches against Charlotte and Alabama A&T, 3-0, 3-0, respectively, this weekend, before salvaging a win against North Carolina A&T in the 2010 Hilton University 49ers Tournament in Charlotte, N.C.
The young Tribe squad entered the tournament in the midst of its out-of-conference schedule looking to build momentum into the upcoming CAA schedule.
“It was a lackluster performance,” Head Coach Melissa Shelton ’91 said. “Our offense had trouble generating the numbers we wanted all weekend long.”
But, instead of continuing its recent success, the squad’s play and took a turn for the worst.
The College opened up Friday night against Charlotte by jumping out early in the first, 13-10, taking advantage of numerous 49ers attacking errors. But Charlotte ultimately tied the score at 23-23, before ending the frame with two kills to take the set.
“Charlotte stayed more aggressive than us and they passed well,” Shelton said. “We let them get on runs and couldn’t stop their momentum.”
The two squads found themselves tied again at 23-23 in the second match before the 49ers again pulled away with two kills to win the set. Senior middle Ginny Bray recorded two blocks in the third set, but it was not enough as the Tribe fell 25-22, giving Charlotte the game.
Sophomore setter Molly Krull recorded 13 assists and five digs in the match, while freshman libero Celine Alasomuka recorded seven digs.
“We expected a great battle and that we would rise to the occasion, but we simply didn’t,” Shelton said.
After falling to Charlotte on the road, the Tribe lost 3-0 to Alabama A&M Saturday. The Bulldogs took the first set 25-21, then did not allow the College to put together a streak of more than two straight points in a 25-18 second-set victory.
Although Alasomuka recorded a pair of aces in the third set, Alabama A&T eventually pulled away 25-20 to win the set and the match.
“Going into the match, we hoped to be competitive and put up a fight, but it didn’t turn out that way,” Shelton said.
The Tribe would go on to defeat North Carolina A&T 3-0 in the final match of the weekend, as senior outside hitter Erin Skipper set a career high with seven aces in the match.
Molly Krull picked up 23 assists versus the Aggies and junior blocker Annie Dorf, who was named to the all-tournament team, tallied five kills and a block in the win.
It would be the lone win for the Tribe on a weekend where its coaches and players came in expecting more.
“It was extremely disappointing,” Shelton said. “We have to regroup this week in practice and prepare for next weekend.”
