WILLIAMSBURG, Va., Nov. 7, 2009 – William and Mary hit .409 as a team, the best of the season by a James Madison opponent, en route to a 3-0 victory in a Colonial Athletic Association volleyball match Saturday night in Kaplan Arena.

W&M improved to 16-10 overall and 8-4 in the CAA after winning by set scores of 25-12, 25-13, and 25-21.  The win kept the Tribe in fourth place in the CAA with two matches remaining before the four-team CAA Championship.  JMU fell to 11-18 overall and 4-9 in the CAA with one match left.

JMU head coach Disa Garner commented, “William and Mary was fired up for senior night and played very well and we just didn’t execute very well.  We made some switches in the third set and played much better.  The passing wasn’t great tonight.  I was disappointed and thought we could have played better, but we didn’t execute the game plan, especially our passing.”

Freshman Danielle Erb (Tampa, Fla./Plant) led all players with 11 kills on .429 hitting for the Dukes.  Junior Lindsay Callahan (Virginia Beach, Va./Landstown) added seven kills, 13 digs, and five assists.  Freshman Megan Wiechmann (Sunland, Calif./Village Christian) posted 19 assists and four digs.  Redshirt freshman Natalie Abel (Washington, Pa./Trinity) picked up 13 digs.

Garner added, “We got Dani and Natalie back in tonight, though they were not 100% and still feeling the effects of their illnesses.  But they were back in and played very well.  Dani had a big match.  They really carried the load for us tonight.”

Five W&M players hit better than .400 with at least six kills.  Erin Skipper led the Tribe with 10 kills on .474 hitting with four digs and three aces.  Lindsay Kresch had a near double-double with nine kills on .429 hitting with 12 digs and three blocks.  Lauren Powell hit .500 with eight kills and seven digs.  Cassie Crumal posted 32 assists and six digs.  Lindsey Pflugner led with 18 digs.

The Tribe never trailed or tied in either of the first two sets with a pair of lopsided wins.  Set three featured 10 ties and five lead changes.  JMU led 10-9 when W&M started to pull away with a 6-1 run.  The Dukes battled back with three quick points and later trailed 20-19.  A kill by junior Jessica Zeroual (Ottawa, Ont./De La Salle) pulled JMU within two at 23-21, but kills by Power and Ginny Bray finished the victory for the Tribe.

JMU has one match remaining in the 2009 season next Saturday, Nov. 14, at George Mason at 7 p.m.