LEWISBURG — The William & Mary volleyball team earned a four-set victory (25-22, 19-25, 25-23, 25-19) versus Bucknell in its opening match at the Bucknell Invitational on Friday evening.
With the win, W&M improves to 3-2 on the season, while the Bison drops to 1-3.
Amy Schwem (29 assists, 12 digs) and Sarah Callender (10 kills, 12 digs) led the Tribe with double-doubles, while Katherine Arnason recorded a team-high 16 kills on a .400 hitting percentage to go with five blocks. Schwem also added three aces.
Olivia Esposito also came up big with 11 kills on a .500 hitting percentage with five blocks.
The tightly contested first set featured 11 ties with neither team leading by more than three points. With the score knotted at 22-22, W&M secured the opening frame by closing on a 3-0 run.
After the Bison won the second set behind a .406 hitting percentage, W&M jumped out to an early 6-2 lead early in the third frame. BU fought back and the teams were tied on five occasions before the Tribe edged the Bison, 25-23. The Tribe posted a .333 hitting percentage in the stanza.
W&M got off to another quick start in the final set, jumping out to an early 8-2 advantage before extending the margin to 13-4. A 5-0 run gave the Tribe an 18-7 cushion it never relinquished in route to securing the victory.
W&M will return to action Saturday with a pair of matches, as it squares off against Cornell (10 a.m.) and Niagara (5 p.m.). Both matches will be broadcast on ESPN+, while live stats will be available at BucknellBison.com.
