Tribe Defeats Air Force, Earns Second-Place Finish at Crowne Plaza Classic

Kathleen Hawley and Lindsey Pflugner Earn All-Tournament Team Honors

09/02/06 10:15PM

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William and Mary volleyball team defeated Air Force, 3-0 (30-17, 30-27, 30-17), on Saturday night and claimed second-place honors at the Crowne Plaza Classic in Williamsburg. During the Classic, the Tribe went 3-1 with its other victories coming against Stony Brook and Norfolk State. W&M’s lone loss came on Saturday morning against St. John’s, which went unbeaten during the weekend’s action. The Tribe was represented on the all-tournament team by senior Kathleen Hawley, who is now just 58 digs shy of the school record, and freshman Lindsey Pflugner.

Against Air Force, the Green and Gold got some outstanding individual performances. Freshman Bryana Carey totaled eight aces, which ties her for second on the College’s all-time single-match list with Melissa Owen. Classmate Lauren Powell also had an impressive showing as she registered 11 kills and a .318 hitting percentage (11-4-22), while Pflugner had 10 kills and seven digs. As usual, Hawley was solid defensively, earning a match-high 18 digs.

In the opening game, the Tribe quickly jumped out to a 9-2 advantage, made possible in part by three consecutive aces by Carey. W&M extended the lead to nine at 14-5 following a kill by Pflugner and never looked back. In the first frame, the Green and Gold hit .375, while holding the Falcons to just .087 hitting.

Unlike the first game, the Tribe found itself down on the scoreboard early in the second frame as Air Force held a 7-3 advantage. However, W&M battled back and evened the count at 12. Tightly contested during the remainder of the set, the College edged ahead down the stretch and took the three-point victory. Hawley tallied 10 digs in the game.

In the third and final set, the Green and Gold came out playing extremely well as they went ahead 9-2 following another kill by Pflugner. Air Force answered, though, and cut the margin to just two at 13-11. Unwilling to relinquish the lead, the Tribe exploded on a 10-0 run that gave it a 23-11 advantage. W&M would go ahead by as many as 14 in the last game before sealing the triumph.

Against the Red Storm, the Tribe hit .203 while the opposition checked in with a .299 percentage. Defensively, both teams recorded 58 digs, while St. John’s had 10 blocks compared to W&M’s eight. Individually, Pflugner tallied a match-high 16 kills to go along with 17 digs. Hawley also registered 17 digs, while sophomore setter Kim Mount dished out 37 assists.

The opening game was extremely competitive as neither team built a substantial lead. However, the Tribe found itself trailing 28-24 with the set winding down. W&M answered with a 4-0 run to even the score and eventually went ahead 30-29, but the Red Storm closed out the game by scoring the final three points. Despite narrowing losing the first frame, W&M out-hit St. John’s .381 to .370. Pflugner came up big on the stat sheet, recording eight kills and a .400 hitting percentage (8-2-15). Lauren Powell’s offensive stats were equally impressive, as she totaled six put-aways and a .417 mark (6-1-12). Mount was instrumental in the offensive production, contributing 18 of her 37 assists in the opening stanza.

In the second game, the Green and Gold fell behind 5-1 early. However, the Tribe responded and quickly narrowed the margin to just one at 10-9 following a kill by Megan McInnes. Both squads battled back and forth much like the first game, as they found themselves knotted at 21. But, as it did in the opening game, St. John’s closed the match well, scoring seven of the final nine points to take the set.

While the Tribe went ahead early, 6-3, following a kill by Katie McCarney, St. John’s led for much of the third game. Despite trailing SJU by as many as six, 21-15, the Tribe refused to go down easily and clawed back to cut the margin to just two at 26-24. St. John’s was up to the challenge, though, and earned the final game to take the match.

The Tribe will be in action again next weekend when they open conference play with matches at Georgia State and UNC Wilmington.

All-Tournament Team

MVP: Caitlin Rimgaila, St. John’s

Casie Brooks, St. John’s
Kathleen Hawley, William and Mary
Lindsey Pflugner, William and Mary
Morgan Sweany, Stony Brook
Katie Batchelder, Air Force
Abaina Farell, Norfolk State

Please click here for all the results.