W&M Earns Second-Place Honors at the Tribe Classic

09/01/07 11:00PM

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William and Mary volleyball team earned second-place honors at the Tribe Classic after splitting a pair of matches on Saturday. W&M defeated Southern Illinois, 3-2 (23-30, 30-26, 24-30, 30-26, 15-8), and fell to Kent State, 3-1 (29-31, 30-25, 31-29, 30-14). The College finished the Classic with a 2-1 record and is now 3-2 on the season.

W&M sophomore Jillian Brown and freshman Cassie Crumal played extremely well during the weekend’s action and were selected to the All-Tournament Team. Brown averaged 2.90 kills per game, while Crumal dished out 12.25 assists per game. Kent State, the tournament champion, placed three players on the All-Tournament Team – Laura Jensen (MVP), Jenny Keck and Anne Zakelj. Kristy Elswick of Southern Illinois and Mignon Dubenion of East Carolina also garnered honors.

In the Tribe’s exciting five-game victory against the Salukis in the final match of the Classic, a number of W&M players had impressive performances. Junior Abbi Owens led the way with 17 digs and 13 kills, while freshman Erin Skipper totaled 14 put-aways and 15 digs for her first career double-double. Sophomore Bryana Carey tallied 10 kills on a .467 hitting percentage (10-3-15), while junior Molly Bohman registered 11 kills and six blocks. Crumal added 56 assists, nine digs and five kills on .444 hitting (5-1-9).

The Green and Gold struggled during the first game and fell behind 12-6. SIU extended the margin to as many as eight points, but the Tribe continued to battle back and utilized a 9-4 run to cut the deficit to just three, 23-20. However, the Salukis pulled away down the stretch and took the frame.

Like the first game, Southern Illinois played well early and jumped out to a 12-5 lead. The Tribe gradually whittled away at the margin and eventually knotted the score at 17. W&M then charged ahead by scoring six of the next seven points to take a 23-18 advantage. While the Salukis cut the lead to two, 26-24, the Green and Gold closed out the stanza with a 4-2 run.

The action was tightly contested in the initial stages of the third game, as the teams found themselves deadlocked at 10. While the Tribe rattled off five consecutive points to go ahead, 15-10, the Salukis gradually worked their way back into the stanza and tied the score at 22. Soon thereafter, the Salukis sealed the game with five straight points.

Nearly the entire fourth game was extremely close, as neither squad could build more than a two-point advantage. After trading the lead on multiple occasions, W&M took a three-point advantage, 28-25, late in the set after a kill by freshman Ginny Bray. Crumal then registered back-to-back kills to help the College win the fourth set and even the contest at two games apiece. The Green and Gold hit .333 (19-5-42) as a team in the stanza, led by Carey’s six kills on .444 hitting (6-2-9).

In the decisive fifth game, W&M quickly built a 4-1. While the Salukis narrowed the gap to just two, 6-4, the Tribe responded with a 5-2 spurt that forced SIU to use a timeout. Southern Illinois would get no closer than four the rest of the way as W&M earned the victory.

In W&M’s contest against Kent State earlier in the day, sophomore Lindsey Pflugner paced the Tribe. The Sarasota, Fla., native finished with a match-high 16 kills to go along with 11 digs. Brown tallied 12 put-aways, while Crumal totaled 51 assists and 15 digs. Sophomore Jill Nowadly also played well and recorded a career-high 23 digs.

Although W&M eventually fell in four games to the Golden Flashes, the Tribe claimed the first frame. With neither team able to take a significant lead throughout the initial set, Kent State led 29-27 late. However, the Tribe utilized a KSU attack error and a put-away by Bray to tie the score at 29. After another error by Kent State, Owens registered the game-winner.

After dropping the second game, the Green and Gold opened the third set playing incredibly well and jumped out to a 9-1 lead. While the Golden Flashes eventually narrowed the margin to just two points on a few occasions, the Tribe held a 29-24 lead following a kill by Brown. However, KSU scored the final seven points to rally back and win the frame. The Golden Flashes would then go on to take the final game, 30-14, to seal the match.

The Tribe will return to action again next weekend when it travels to California to play in the UC-Irvine Tournament.


2007 Tribe Classic Results – Day Two
Southern Illinois defeated East Carolina, 3-0
Kent State defeated William and Mary, 3-1
Kent State defeated East Carolina, 3-1
William and Mary defeated Southern Illinois, 3-2

All-Tournament Team
Laura Jensen, Kent State*
Jenny Keck, Kent State
Anne Zakelj, Kent State
Cassie Crumal, W&M
Jillian Brown, W&M
Mignon Dubenion, East Carolina
Kristy Elswick, Southern Illinois

* Tournament MVP

Tribe Classic Photos