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The William and Mary volleyball team gets its 2012 season underway this weekend with a trip to Durham, N.C. and a spot in the Duke Invitational. The Tribe will take on Duke on Friday night at 7 p.m., before facing Milwaukee at noon and Fairfield at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
Live Stats
Live Video (Duke match-only)
Scouting the Tribe
W&M brings back all but two players from last year's team, and its six-player recruiting class was ranked as one of the five best in the region by PrepVolleyball.com this summer. The veterans include junior libero Celine Alasomuka, who averaged 4.39 digs per set last fall, and sophomore middle Monika Stanciauskas, who is the top returning attacker in the CAA with a .295 hitting percentage in 2011.
Scouting the Blue Devils
Duke was picked fourth in the ACC pre-season poll last week, and returns nine players off of last year's team. In 2011, the Blue Devils were 20-9 overall and 14-5 in the ACC and fell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Tennessee.
Scouting the Panthers
Milwaukee was the 2011 Horizon League champion with a perfect 16-0 league record, and totaled 25 victories before bowing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Panthers return four starters and seven letterwinners off of last year's team.
Scouting the Stags
Fairfield came within one win of reaching the NCAA Tournament in 2011, and was selected by the MAAC coaches as the league favorite this season. The Stags went 20-10 last fall, winning 17 of their last 20 matches, and finished second in the MAAC tournament. Ten players return for Fairfield.
The Series
Duke holds a 7-4 advantage in the series with the Tribe dating back to the 1975 season, but the teams have met only twice in the past 20 years. The last showdown was in the 2001 NCAA Tournament. W&M has only played Milwaukee once, during the 2003 St. Louis Invitational, but that one meeting was a barn-burner. The first set in that match ended up 41-39 in favor of the Panthers, who went on to win 3-0 after additional sets of 30-26 and 30-21. W&M and Fairfield have never played before.
News and Notes
- W&M's recruting class earned mention from PrepVolleyball.com for the third year in a row this summer, and was one of the five best classes mentioned in the region.
- Senior Molly Krull spent the summer in Budapest, Hungary, on a study abroad program through W&M's School of Business.
- Junior Julia Swalchick also spent her summer overseas, studying environmental science in Iceland. Swalchick was also the volleyball team's representative in this year's "Touting the Tribe" video series.
- The W&M freshman class moves into the dorms on Friday, but one of their most accomplished classmates will be on the court in Durham. Olivia Jebb was one of just six students selected from the class of 1,470 to be a Murray Scholar, an honor that includes an academic scholarship, funding for an independent reseach project of the Scholar's own design, and the opportunity to study abroad for a semester at Oxford. Jebb is also one of the Tribe's few multi-sport athletes this year, and will compete as a jumper and sprinter on the track team during the spring.
Live Stats
Live Video (Duke match-only)
Scouting the Tribe
W&M brings back all but two players from last year's team, and its six-player recruiting class was ranked as one of the five best in the region by PrepVolleyball.com this summer. The veterans include junior libero Celine Alasomuka, who averaged 4.39 digs per set last fall, and sophomore middle Monika Stanciauskas, who is the top returning attacker in the CAA with a .295 hitting percentage in 2011.
Scouting the Blue Devils
Duke was picked fourth in the ACC pre-season poll last week, and returns nine players off of last year's team. In 2011, the Blue Devils were 20-9 overall and 14-5 in the ACC and fell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Tennessee.
Scouting the Panthers
Milwaukee was the 2011 Horizon League champion with a perfect 16-0 league record, and totaled 25 victories before bowing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Panthers return four starters and seven letterwinners off of last year's team.
Scouting the Stags
Fairfield came within one win of reaching the NCAA Tournament in 2011, and was selected by the MAAC coaches as the league favorite this season. The Stags went 20-10 last fall, winning 17 of their last 20 matches, and finished second in the MAAC tournament. Ten players return for Fairfield.
The Series
Duke holds a 7-4 advantage in the series with the Tribe dating back to the 1975 season, but the teams have met only twice in the past 20 years. The last showdown was in the 2001 NCAA Tournament. W&M has only played Milwaukee once, during the 2003 St. Louis Invitational, but that one meeting was a barn-burner. The first set in that match ended up 41-39 in favor of the Panthers, who went on to win 3-0 after additional sets of 30-26 and 30-21. W&M and Fairfield have never played before.
News and Notes
- W&M's recruting class earned mention from PrepVolleyball.com for the third year in a row this summer, and was one of the five best classes mentioned in the region.
- Senior Molly Krull spent the summer in Budapest, Hungary, on a study abroad program through W&M's School of Business.
- Junior Julia Swalchick also spent her summer overseas, studying environmental science in Iceland. Swalchick was also the volleyball team's representative in this year's "Touting the Tribe" video series.
- The W&M freshman class moves into the dorms on Friday, but one of their most accomplished classmates will be on the court in Durham. Olivia Jebb was one of just six students selected from the class of 1,470 to be a Murray Scholar, an honor that includes an academic scholarship, funding for an independent reseach project of the Scholar's own design, and the opportunity to study abroad for a semester at Oxford. Jebb is also one of the Tribe's few multi-sport athletes this year, and will compete as a jumper and sprinter on the track team during the spring.
