W&M Falls to UC Irvine, 3-0

09/08/07 11:50PM

IRVINE, Calif. - The William and Mary volleyball team fell to UC Irvine, 3-0 (30-23, 30-27, 30-21), on Saturday night in the final match of the UC Irvine Invitational.

Sophomore Jillian Brown and freshman Erin Skipper led W&M (3-5) with 11 kills apiece, while sophomore Lauren Powell recorded nine put-aways. Junior Kim Mount finished the match with 35 assists, and sophomore Lindsey Pflugner tallied a team-high 12 digs.

The College fell behind 6-1 early in the initial game, but it rallied back with a 4-1 run. Shortly thereafter, UCI pulled ahead, 11-7, but the Tribe responded again and utilized a 5-0 spurt, punctuated with a Skipper put-away, to take a one-point lead. With the score knotted at 15, the Anteaters rattled off five unanswered points in a decisive run and went on to win the opening game.

The second frame was tightly contested, as the squads found themselves tied on 14 occasions. W&M took its biggest lead of the set, 20-17, following an ace by junior Jill Nowadly, but UCI charged back with a 5-0 run. The Green and Gold kept the score close but were unable to reclaim the lead.

W&M got off to a good start in the third frame and built a 10-6 advantage following a kill by junior Molly Bohman. The Anteaters gradually chipped away at the lead, though, and eventually knotted the score at 13. UCI continued its push and tallied eight of the next 10 points to take a 21-15 advantage. While the Tribe narrowed the deficit with three straight points, the Anteaters held on to win the set and the match.

The College will return to action again next weekend when it plays at the Villanova Classic.

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