The William and Mary volleyball team broke through for its first win of the year on Saturday night, rallying from a 1-0 deficit to sweep the final three sets from Fairfield in the third-place match of the Duke Invitational. With the victory, the Tribe improves to 1-2 overall, while the Stags fall to 0-3.
Box Score
A true host of players came through in the clutch to propel the College to the win, including senior setter
Molly Krull (Raleigh, N.C.). The team captain picked up the first double-double of the year with 41 assists and 10 digs, but was also very effective at the net with four kills and three blocks. Freshman
Dessi Koleva (Torrance, Calif.) completed the first double-double of her young career just a few rallies later, finishing with 10 kills and 17 assists.
The Tribe's hitting was especially on point in the early evening with four players hitting .333 or better. Freshman
Carolyn Albright (Raleigh, N.C.) was the most accurate with a .444 attack percentage, connecting on nine kills to go with three blocks. Junior
Julia Swalchick (Melbourne, Fla.) nearly went the entire match without an error, only collecting one in the final few points as she finished with 10 kills and one block on a .429 attack. Senior
Shaylin o'Connell (Leesburg, Va.) was steady and productive as she has been all weekend long, hitting .333 with nine kills and two blocks, and junior
Paulette Grand Pre (Laguna Beach, Va.) had five kills and a .333 attack in limited minutes.
Other notables included the Tribe's defensive duo of
Devin Andrews-Lyssy (Santa Rosa, Calif.) and
Celine Alasomuka (Centreville, Va.). Andrews-Lyssy had 13 digs and a rare kill in the libero spot, while Alasomuka added in eight digs and a pair of service aces. Sophomore
Manon Murray (Greensboro, N.C.) came on strong late in the match, and finished with seven kills, six digs, and a block.
Still recovering a bit from the earlier match against Milwaukee, the Tribe came out a bit flat in the first set as Fairfield rolled to a quick 25-16 win and an early 1-0 lead in the match. Any thoughts of the Stags riding that momentum were quickly dashed, however, as W&M came out swinging and quickly jumped in front 9-2 in the second set. Fairfield would never get closer than that the rest of the way, as the Tribe had an equal or better response to every attempted run. A block by Albright and Swalchick put the exclamation point on the College's own 25-16 gem, and the match was tied up at one set apiece with each team trying to avoid an 0-3 weekend.
Midway through the third set, it looked like Fairfield was gaining the upper hand after a seven-point run put them in front 13-9. Fate's wheel had more turning yet to do, however, and the Tribe patiently chipped away at the lead with a pair of four-point runs of its own, tying the score at 20-20 on a block from Albright and Krull. Two more Fairfield kills prompted a timeout, and the quick calm benefited the College with kills from Murray and Andrews-Lyssy. The Stags had one more lead, at 23-22, but Albright quickly erased that and Swalchick and Krull provided the coup-de-grace for a 25-23 win.
Needing just one more set to clinch the victory, W&M quietly and calmly built up to a four-point lead at 11-7 in the fourth. Fairfield took a timeout and then closed within one, but O'Connell had two kills to spark a 6-1 run and opened the gap a bit wider at 17-11. Traded points led to a six-point Tribe advantage at 21-15, before Fairfield managed one last gasp to try and force a fifth set. The Stags popped off an 8-2 run, and the match stood tied at 23-all. Koleva recorded her 10th kill to lift W&M to match-point, 24-23, but Fairfield responded in kind for the match's 10th tied score. Digging deep, O'Connell scored a kill to put her team on the cusp again, and this time Murray was able to follow up with a final kill and clinch the 26-24 victory.
William and Mary is back in action on Tuesday night, as the Tribe travels to Lynchburg to face Liberty. The match is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
