University of Delaware Athletics
Seniors Lead The Way As Delaware Volleyball Wins Second Straight With 3-0 Triumph Over William & Mary
11/9/2012 2:47:00 PM | Volleyball
Delaware, which has now won 11 of its last 13 matches, improved to 14-13 overall and 8-3 in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Blue Hens, who won for the seventh time in their last eight home contests, can finish no lower than third in the CAA standings but could move up to second in next week's conference tournament. The Tribe, which has also already clinched a berth in the six-team league tournament as well, dropped to 13-12 overall and 5-6 in CAA play.
Alker led the Blue Hens with 11 kills against just four attack errors to hit .233 for the match, while Lawrence (at right) chipped in with 10 kills and only two attack errors to post a .381 attack percentage. Freshman Katie Hillman contributed eight kills against two errors for Delaware, which hit .259 for the night while limiting William & Mary to .075 hitting.
Freshman libero Ariel Shonk (at left), the league's leader in digs, posted a team-high 24 digs for the Blue Hens, while fellow freshman Mackenzie Olsen handed out 39 assists.
Shaylin O'Connell led the Tribe with seven kills while committing just one attack error to hit .353 on the afternoon, while Paulette Grand Pre added five kills to go with a team-high 12 digs.
After the first set was tied at 3-3 early on, the Blue Hens won nine of the next 11 points to take a 12-5 advantage and led the rest of the stanza. William & Mary eventually closed to within 15-11, but three straight points by the Blue Hens increased the margin back to seven and UD held a comfortable margin the rest of the way.
The Tribe jumped out to an 8-4 edge during the second set, before Delaware used a five-point run to take an 11-9 advantage. The set would remain extremely tight for the remainder of the period, as neither team would lead by more than two points. The Blue Hens trailed 24-23 as William & Mary earned a set point, but Hillman delivered a kill to pull Delaware even before two Tribe attack errors gave the set to UD.
Delaware then wasted little time in taking control of the third set, winning five of the first six points and leading the rest of the way. After the Tribe closed to within 13-9, the Blue Hens ran off five consecutive points to go up by nine and were not threatened from there.
The Blue Hens close out their regular season on Saturday when Delaware hosts UNCW in a 7 p.m. match at the Bob Carpenter Center. Seniors Alker and Lawrence, along with classmate Logan Sebastian, will be honored in a pregame Senior Night ceremony.
