Charleston Opens CAA Play at William & Mary

Saturday, September 16

Williamsburg, Va.

2 PM

College of Charleston

William & Mary

Photo by: AlSamuels.com

9/15/2023 9:15:00 AM | Volleyball

09.16.23 W&M

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The 2023 CAA season is here for College of Charleston volleyball as William & Mary awaits for a pair of matches in Williamsburg, Va. and Kaplan Arena.

Saturday marks the first of an 18-match CAA slate for the Cougars across nine two-match series – five of the series coming on the road and four taking place inside TD Arena. This weekend is also the first meeting with the Tribe since 2021 after not facing them during the 2022 regular season, the first time the two hadn't met since Charleston moved to the CAA prior to the 2013-14 academic year.

Charleston enters the weekend with 99 regular season wins in CAA play – the second-most among current league members since the 2013 season behind only Towson. Of the 99 conference wins, 15 have come against the Tribe in 18 matchups including an 8-1 mark in Williamsburg.

Weekend Schedule
Charleston at William & Mary | Saturday, September 16 at 2:00 p.m.
Charleston at William & Mary | Sunday, September 17 at 2:00 p.m.

Video: FloVolleyball.TV
Live Stats: CofCstats.com
Cougars on Social Media: Twitter // Instagram

QUICK HITTERS

Charleston has seen a balanced attack through 11 nonconference matches as 4 different Cougars have led the team in kills in a given match – Lexi Wierzbicki, Sofie Vogel, Sopheea Mink and Anna Smith.
The Cougars have also seen instant impact from new faces in 2023 with freshman Elli Kinney getting plenty of reps at Libero, freshman setter Hannah Scott leading the team in assists per set and Sopheea Mink sits third in kills per set and blocks per set. Kinney ranks fourth in the CAA in total digs (138) and has paced the Cougar backline in seven of their 11 matches played.
Graduate outside hitter Lexi Wierzbicki has moved into a more versatile role in 2023 serving and spending time on the backline to go along with her attack that statistically ranks among the best in the CAA each season. Wierzbicki sits second on the team in digs (2.39/set) and blocks (0.47/set) while leading the attack in kills and points.
As a whole, Charleston ranks among the top-100 nationally in assists (49th), digs (67th), kills (39th) and service aces (81st). Charleston also ranks fourth in the CAA in attack percentage (.220) having hit above .235 in six matches with a season-high .398 coming in a sweep of Le Moyne.
Saturday marks the 20th meeting between programs as Charleston holds a 16-3 advantage overall and 15-3 since joining the CAA prior to the 2013 season. The Cougars have also been road warriors in series history holding an 8-1 mark in their nine previous opportunities inside Kaplan Arena. Charleston's .842 win percentage in series history ranks third-highest against a single current CAA member with more than 10 previous meetings.
Charleston can also grab win No. 100 in CAA play this weekend as the Cougars hold a 99-51 record since joining the league a decade ago. Only Towson has more wins (104) and a higher winning percentage during that span among current league members.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

William & Mary enters the weekend 5-5 after nonconference play winning five of their first seven matches, but dropping all three last weekend in Athens, Ohio. Taylor Burrell leads the Tribe's attack with 2.57 kills/set while Amy Schwem and Emma Minnick split time at the pivot with 5.11 and 3.85 assists/set each. Olivia Esposito has been a defensive force at the net blocking 1.50 attempts per set while Lindsay Kahren's 3.18 digs/set rank among the Top-10 of the CAA.

Ryan Adams enters his first CAA match at the helm for William & Mary after leading Lafayette to 38 wins over four seasons in his previous stop, including winning 2021 Patriot League Coach of the Year leading the Leopards to a program record conference wins. The Tribe finished 12-14 overall in 2022 with a 6-10 record in CAA play and upset second-seeded Hofstra in the CAA Quarterfinals. Their 5-2 start this season was the best by the program since 2009 when they won 18 matches.