Delaware Drops Five-Set Thriller to William & Mary, 3-2

Friday, October 5

Williamsburg, VA

7:00 PM

University of Delaware

6-11, 0-5CAA

The College of William & Mary

5-8, 1-3CAA

Delaware

William & Mary

Delaware Drops Five-Set Thriller to William & Mary, 3-2

10/5/2018 10:45:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

Brooke Robertson posted 18 kills

By: Mike Scholze

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Despite 18 kills from senior Brooke Robertson, the Delaware volleyball team was unable to complete the comeback against William & Mary and fell, 3-2 (25-21, 25-20, 16-25, 15-13) on Friday night at Kaplan Arena. The loss puts Delaware at 6-11 overall and 0-5 in the Colonial Athletic Association while W&M improved to 5-8 and 1-3 in the league.

"That was a tough match to lose," head coach Sara Matthews said. "When you look at the stats, we beat them in every category – kills, blocks, digs, aces -we just didn't get the end result. We had great performances from a few people tonight. Brooke (Robertson ) was unbelievable tonight and so was Bailey (Pearlman). We just have to stick with it for longer and good things will happen."

After going down 0-2, Delaware fought their way back into the match with dominant third and fourth sets. In the third set, UD jumped out to a 17-10 lead after a 3-0 run capped by a Bellinger and never let the Tribe within five points for the remander of the set. In the fourth, Delaware grabbed an early 13-8 advantage before firing off six-straight points to go up 19-8. UD would allow the Tribe to score just three more points before winning the set, 25-11, after a service error from W&M.

Delaware was able to grab the first point of the fifth set after a Robertson hammer. UD went up 4-1 but W&M answered with three points of their own. The play would swing back-and-forth until Delaware tied the set at 12-12 with a Hanus ace. The Blue Hens went up 13-12 after a Pearlman kill before the Tribe scored the last three points of the match and won the set, 15-13.

The Blue Hens outkilled the Tribe 63-46, with Robertson's 18 being one short of her season high, which she produced against Bryant. Juniors Cailey Bracken and Bailey Pearlman each had 14 hammers of their own, while senior Brooke Robertson had 10 kills. Bracken's 14 was a CAA high for her, while Pearlman's number was her second highest output of the year.

Delaware was strong on the serve throughout the match, producing 12 aces. Pearlman recorded five aces, her season high, while junior Andie Hanus had four of her own. Bracken, Robertson and Bellinger each had one of their own.

UD outdug the Tribe 58-53, with Hanus leading the way with a match-high 19 scoops. Bracken recorded her ninth double-double of the season after she added 11 digs to her 14 kills. Sophomore Courtnie Roberts posted a double-double of her own after 10 digs and 32 assists. Nine Blue Hens recorded at least one dig in the five-set match.

Robertson led the way with seven blocks while UD recorded eight team stuffs. Bellinger had three while Bracken and Roberts had two.

Roberts led the offense to a .253 hitting percentage after directing the offense with 32 assists. Senior Abby Skryd added 23 assists of her – one of her season-high. UD outhit William & Mary .253 - .216.

UP NEXT
Delaware continues on the road at Elon on Sunday, October 7. First serve is set for 1 p.m.