WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Following a successful non-conference slate, Stony Brook continued to roll into CAA play with its third sweep in a row on Friday as they defeated William & Mary 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-19).
Once again, Ella Sanders led the offense with 18 kills on top of pacing the team with 13 digs. Damisi Osibodu headed up the defense with seven total blocks against her old team.
How It Happened
SET 1 | Neither team took a lead larger than four points in the first set as both squads were evenly matched. Falling behind 12-8 early, the Seawolves scored four in a row to tie it up, before scoring three of the next five to take a 15-14 lead at the half. During this run, Sanders racked up four of the team's six kills. Later, with the Seawolves trailing 20-19, Sanders recorded back-to-back kills to jump start a 6-2 run to take set one.
SET 2 | Stony Brook continued its momentum from the previous frame in the second as they quickly forced a W&M timeout after going up 7-3. Defense at the net was a strong point for the Seawolves, as Lei Lasike and Osibodu teamed up for two early blocks, before Sanders and Ayanna Pierre Louis added three more to give the team a 15-12 edge. Pierre Louis and Lasike would notch Stony Brook's sixth block of the set to extend the lead to 18-12 and for the Tribe to burn another timeout. The Seawolves would increase their total to eight blocks to get to set point, allowing Osibodu to make it 2-0 with her third kill.
SET 3 | While the Tribe were initially able to keep things close at the start of the third, the 1-2 punch of Osibodu's defense at the net and Sanders offensive prowess soon put things out of reach. Dow 7-6, Sanders opened a 3-0 run with back-to-back kills to make it 9-7, before extending the lead to 15-12 at the media timeout with two more kills. Osibodu would later make it a five-point game at 18-13 with her seventh block of the evening. The lead would only grow from their, culminating in one last kill from Quinn Anderson to complete the sweep.
Notable Stats
- Sanders topped 700 career kills today, ending the night with 703. She also notched her 16th career double-double and fourth of the season.
- Stony Brook's 16 total blocks mark the third time this year the team has finished with double-digit blocks.
- Carey-Jean Block reached 250 career digs, picking up six more on Friday to bring her to 254.
Up Next
The weekend series with the Tribe concludes tomorrow at 1 p.m. The match will be streamed live on FloCollege.
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