William & Mary Volleyball Team Hosts the Colonial Challenge This Weekend at Kaplan Arena
WILLIAMSBURG - The William and Mary volleyball hosts its second tournament of the year this weekend, facing off against American, Campbell, and Hampton Universities in the Colonial Challenge on September 3-4. It marks the first time in school history that the Tribe has hosted tournaments on back-to-back weekends.
Live Stats
Live Video
Friday, Sept. 3 (jersey color)
4 PM - Hampton (light) vs American (dark)
7 PM - William and Mary (light) vs Campbell (dark)
Saturday, Sept. 4 (jersey color)
10 AM - American (light) vs Campbell (dark)
1 PM - Hampton (light) vs William and Mary (dark)
4 PM - Campbell (light) vs Hampton (dark)
7 PM - William and Mary (light) vs American (dark)
Scouting the Tribe
William and Mary enters this weekend at 1-2 after downing Winthrop 3-2 in the Tribe Invitational last Saturday. Freshman Paulette Grand Pre (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) earned all-tournament honors after leading the Tribe with 3.09 kills per set, and sophomore Shaylin O’Connell (Leesburg, Va.) also had a terrific three matches, leading the tournament with 17 blocks.
Scouting the Camels
Campbell is 0-4 on the year after facing four high-powered opponents, including No. 1 Penn State. Emily Werner and Jordan Reaves lead the Camels offensively with 24 kills apiece, while the aptly named Kelsey Campbell is averaging 4.18 digs per set.
Scouting the Pirates
Hampton went 0-4 last week as it hosted the Tiny Laster Memorial Tournament, before dropping a hard-fought match to Norfolk State, 3-2 on Tuesday. Aaryn Harrison is averaging 2.31 kills per set in her senior season, and junior Lina Cordoba has 15 blocks in 10 sets so far this year.
Scouting the Eagles
American is 3-1 on the year, with their only loss coming to Big East contender Georgetown last weekend. Included in their win total is a 3-0 sweep of defending CAA Champions George Mason. Senior Magdalena Tekiel is the top offensive threat for the Eagles with 4.25 kills per set, while classmate Deborah Frantz is collecting 4.67 digs per set from the libero’s position.
The Series
The Tribe is a combined 30-14 against Hampton and American, but has never met Campbell before in volleyball. W&M is a perfect 17-0 against Hampton in a series that dates to 1978, and has never dropped a set to the Pirates. American used to be one of the top CAA opponents for the Tribe before joining the Patriot League in 2001, and the series is weighted 14-13 in favor of the Eagles. Last year’s 3-1 win for the Tribe was the first since 1996.
Pre-Season Honors
Outside hitters Lindsay Kresch (Moon Township, Pa.) and Erin Skipper (Yorktown, Va.) were selected last week to the pre-season all-conference team. Kresch was a second-team All-CAA pick in 2009, while Skipper has earned all-conference honors each of the past two years, and is making her second appearance on the pre-season squad.
