Tribe Rallies Back to Defeat Hofstra, 3-2

10/27/07 10:20PM

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William and Mary volleyball team rallied back from five points down in the fifth game to earn a hard-fought 3-2 (16-30, 30-24, 28-30, 30-27, 15-13) triumph against Hofstra on Saturday evening in Williamsburg. With the win, the Tribe improves to 12-12 overall and 7-4 in conference action, while the Pride falls to 13-11 overall and 5-5 in league play.

Junior Abbi Owens earned a double-double to lead the Tribe, totaling a team-high 17 kills and 16 digs. Sophomore Bryana Carey also played well and added 13 put-aways and eight total blocks. Junior Kim Mount was just four kills away from a triple-double, as she finished with 46 assists, 10 digs and six kills.

“I’m really proud of the way our players competed and bounced back after a tough loss last night,” Head Coach Debbie Hill said. “We played with an enormous amount of heart against a very good team. This win will be critical in helping us get back to our winning ways.”

While the score was tied at 8-8 early in the initial game, Hofstra pushed ahead with a 6-0 run. The Green and Gold narrowed the margin to four, 16-12, after a HU service error, but the Pride responded by scoring eight of the next 10 points to open up a double-digit lead. W&M was unable to get closer than nine the rest of the way, as Hofstra claimed the first set.

Similar to the opening game, the score was knotted at 9-9 in the second set. This time, however, the Tribe took control with a 4-0 run, punctuated with a kill by Carey. Although HU countered with four consecutive points of its own, the College answered with a 7-2 spurt to take a 20-15 advantage following a service ace by junior Jill Nowadly. Hofstra briefly cut W&M’s lead to two, but Tribe responded with a 6-2 run en route to earning the game.

The third game was incredibly close throughout, as the teams found themselves tied on 11 occasions. While the Pride jumped out to a 7-3 lead early, the Tribe quickly rallied back with five straight points to reclaim the lead. Neither team was able to pull ahead by more than three the rest of the way, but Hofstra won the frame by tallying the final pair of points to claim the narrow win.

Despite trailing two games to one, the College came out focused in the fourth game and quickly built a 7-1 lead, forcing Hofstra to use a timeout. While the Pride gradually worked its way back into the game, W&M held off the charge and sent the game to a fifth set. Owens came up big in the frame with eight kills on .333 hitting (8-1-21).

Hofstra scored four of the first five point in the fifth game and extended the margin to five, 12-7. However, W&M utilized a trio of kills by Carey to rally back and knot the score at 12-12. After Hofstra reclaimed the lead, 13-12, the College scored the final three points to complete the comeback and close out the game and the match.

The Tribe will return to action again when it plays at Hampton on Tuesday at 6 p.m.