Tribe Defeats UNCW, 3-0, for Fourth Straight Victory

10/13/07 9:20PM

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William and Mary volleyball earned its fourth consecutive victory with a 3-0 (30-26, 30-18, 30-25) triumph against UNC Wilmington on Saturday evening in Williamsburg. W&M (11-9, 6-1) has now won seven of its last eight contests and is atop the Colonial Athletic Association standings. With a 6-1 conference record, the College leads Delaware by a half game.

Sophomore Lauren Powell led the Green and Gold with a match-high 17 kills on .538 hitting (17-3-26) and five total blocks. Junior Molly Bohman also played well and totaled five kills and eight total blocks, while junior Jill Nowadly finished with 19 digs.

While UNCW scored five of the first six points in the initial game, the Tribe rallied back with a 6-1 run to take a narrow edge. With the score knotted at 10, however, W&M broke open the set with a 6-0 spurt. Although the Seahawks gradually fought back to cut the lead to just two points on multiple occasions late in the frame, the Tribe closed out the set and registered the four-point win. Powell led the squad in the game with five put-aways on .571 hitting (5-1-7), while junior Kim Mount dished out 13 assists.

UNCW tallied the first two points in the second game, but the College charged ahead by scoring 18 of the next 20 points. While the Seahawks worked their way back to within seven, 21-14, the Tribe responded with a 6-1 run en route to earning the 30-18 triumph. Powell came up big in the frame with five kills on a .400 attack percentage (5-1-10).

Although W&M trailed 6-3 early in the third game, it utilized an 11-1 run that was punctuated with a kill by freshman Erin Skipper to take a comfortable seven-point advantage. However, the Seahawks continued to battle and cut the deficit to just two, 18-16, after a put-away by Megan Nash. The College responded with three straight points and went on to take the game and the match. Powell totaled seven kills on .667 hitting (7-1-9) in the final set, while Mount recorded 14 assists.

The Tribe will be in action again next weekend when it plays a pair of road matches at George Mason and James Madison.