Tribe to Close Out Regular-Season Slate against Towson and Delaware

11/07/07 2:10PM

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William and Mary volleyball team will close out its regular-season slate when it hosts Delaware and Towson this Thursday and Friday. W&M (13-13, 7-5) will play the Blue Hens (26-4, 10-2) on Thursday at 7 p.m., while it will square off against the Tigers (3-9, 7-21) on Friday at 7 p.m. The contests will mark the final home matches for Head Coach Debbie Hill, who announced she will retire from her coaching position at the conclusion of the season. Friday’s contest is also Senior Night, and the Tribe’s lone senior, Megan McInnes, will be honored prior to the match.

With a 7-5 conference record, the Tribe is currently in a four-way tie for third place in the league standings with James Madison, Hofstra and George Mason. Delaware is atop the standings and leads Northeastern by a game. Seventh-place VCU is 5-7 in CAA play and still could finish among the top six teams and earn a spot in the conference tournament.

Despite falling to VCU, 3-2, in its last outing, a number of Tribe players had impressive performances. Freshman Ginny Bray totaled 14 kills on .464 hitting (14-1-28) with eight block assists, while junior Abbi Owens registered a double-double with 15 kills and 20 digs.

As a team, W&M ranks third in the conference in digs (18.25 dpg) and blocks (2.46 bpg). Additionally, the College is fifth in assists (13.10 apg) and opponent hitting percentage (.187).

Individually, Kim Mount ranks third in assists (11.63 apg), while Bray (1.16 bpg) and junior Molly Bohman (1.11 bpg) are third and sixth in blocks, respectively. Junior Jill Nowadly is seventh in digs (4.25 dpg), and freshman Erin Skipper is 10th in kills (3.28 kpg).

Currently atop the CAA standings and winners of its last six matches, Delaware enters Thursday’s contest with a 26-4 record overall and 10-2 mark in league play. The Blue Hens opened the season with 10 straight wins and also registered a nine-game winning streak earlier in the year. Colleen Walsh leads the team and the conference with 4.43 kpg, while Megan Welch leads the league with 13.04 apg. Earlier this season, W&M snapped UD’s nine-match winning streak with a 3-2 triumph in Newark on Oct. 6. Nowadly came up big for the Tribe in the win with a career-high 32 digs, while Skipper earned a double-double with 20 kills and 19 digs.

Towson has lost eight of its last 11 contests and is currently 7-21 overall and 3-9 in league play. Last weekend, the Tigers defeated George Mason, 3-2, but fell to James Madison, 3-1. Maddie Haseltine leads the team with 3.77 kpg, while Alysha Fanning is averaging 1.07 bpg. In the teams’ first meeting this season, the Tribe earned a 3-0 win on Oct. 5. Skipper led the team with 11 kills on .423 hitting, while Bohman totaled nine put-aways on a .444 attack percentage.