WILLIAMSBURG — William & Mary volleyball closed out the Tribe Invitational strong on Saturday with a pair of victories. The Tribe topped Quinnipiac in four sets, 25-12, 23-25, 25-18, 25-12, before outlasting in-state foe George Mason in five sets, 18-25, 25-18, 27-25, 24-26, 15-7, to cap the evening.
The Tribe (3-3) dominated the net in both wins, totaling 18 blocks in each contest. The 18 blocks were the most for a Tribe team, regardless of sets, since it at 21 against American in 2009. The 18 blocks in four sets against the Bobcats was the fifth-most for a four-set match in school history.
Fifth-year Maddie Meyers and junior Olivia Esposito both earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Meyers totaled 45 kills over the three matches, averaging 3.2 per set, while Esposito totaled 19 kills and 22 blocks (1.6 per set) during the tournament.
William & Mary 3, Quinnipiac 1
Along with the Tribe’s 18 blocks, freshman Cate Hatfield tallied six of W&M’s eight aces against Quinnipiac. The total was the third most in a four-set match for a Tribe player in school history and the most, regardless of sets, since 2010.
Esposito tied her career-high with 10 blocks in the win over the Bobcats and added seven kills, while hitting .700. Graduate student Sabrina Malcolm posted eight blocks to go with seven kills. Freshman Devereaux Hoxsie topped W&M with nine kills in the victory, and sophomore Katherine Arnason chipped in eight blocks.
The Tribe used a 5-1 run to take control of the opening set, leading 11-6 following a Bella Easton ace. W&M scored 10 of the set’s final 12 points to take a 1-0 lead. W&M scored seven in row, including a pair of Hatfield aces to go in front 22-10. Hoxsie capped the set with a kill. As a team, the Tribe hit .450 in the opening set with 10 kills and just one error, while limiting Quinnipiac to -.062 hitting.
The Bobcats (1-5) jumped out to a lead in the second set behind four-straight points, including back-to-back blocks from Tuana Turhan and Elena Giacomini to open up a 17-12 lead. W&M closed to within 23-22 behind a 6-1 run. The Tribe had a trio of blocks during the run, cutting the margin to one on a Malcolm and Arnason combination. Leilani-kai Giusta’s sixth kill of the set pulled the Bobcats even at one set apiece.
W&M took control early in the third set with four straight points. Esposito was part of three of them with two blocks and a kill. Her solo block put W&M up 11-6 and forced a Quinnipiac timeout. The Tribe’s lead reached eight on a Malcolm block, before the Tribe senior capped the set with a kill.
The Tribe used a 7-1 spurt to open a seven-point lead in the fourth set. Hoxsie added three kills during the stretch, before a Meyers kill pushed lead to 14-7. Back-to-back aces from Hatfield pushed the advantage to 20-10, and W&M scored the match’s final five points to pull out a 25-12 win on a Dunnigan ace.
William & Mary 3, George Mason 2
Meyers topped the 20-kill mark for the second time this week, leading W&M with 22 against the Patriots (2-4). Senior Bella Easton notched a double-double with 28 assists and 11 digs, while Hoxsie added 12 kills. Malcolm set a career-high with 10 blocks, and Arnason and Esposito added six apiece.
After Mason rallied to win the fourth set and pull even at two, the Tribe closed the decisive fifth strong to pull out the victory. Leading 7-6, W&M ripped off seven straight points to take an insurmountable lead. Hoxsie started the run with a kill, while the Tribe added a pair of blocks to continue to the run and Arnason extended the margin to 14-6 with a kill. After a Mason point stemmed the tide, Hoxsie cemented the Tribe victory with the clinching kill. W&M hit .571 in fifth on five kills compared to just one error.
The visitors hit .400 in winning the opening set, 25-18, before the Tribe responded by hitting .520 in the second on 15 kills compared to two errors. Mason won six of the first seven points in the second set, but W&M pulled even at 12 thanks to three straight Meyers kills. The Tribe won five of the set’s final six points, pulling even at a set apiece behind an Esposito kill.
In the third set, Mason jumped out to a 5-1 lead, but W&M rallied to tie it at seven, following back-to-back Hoxsie kills. Neither team could find much distance for the remainder of the set, before the Tribe won the final two points of the set, including the clinching block from Malcolm and Hoxsie to give W&M the 27-25 win.
Tribe Invitational All-Tournament Team
Chloe Ka’ahanui (Quinnipiac)
Elena Giacomini (Quinnipiac)
Maddie Meyers (William & Mary)
Olivia Esposito (William & Mary)
Jordan Hardy (Bucknell)
Bri Frazilus (Bucknell)
Chelsea Colter (George Mason)
Autumn Martinez-Robinson (George Mason)
Up Next
The Tribe heads to the Queens Fall Classic next weekend. W&M takes on the host at noon on Friday before facing USC Upstate at 4:30 p.m. They wrap up the trip against Davison on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
