The Seahawks improved to 7-11 overall and evened their league mark at 1-1 with the five-set victory while the Tribe slipped to 5-9 and 0-3. Both teams return to action Sunday with matinee league contests. UNCW hosts VCU while W&M is at Georgia State. Both matches are scheduled to start at 1 p.m.

Fitzgerald and Laite combined to record 31 of the Seahawks 61 spikes in the contest. Junior Jennifer Mallard joined in the duo in double figures with 10 kills while freshman McKenzie Keightley added eight. Junior Natalie LaHaie quarterbacked the UNCW attack as she dished out a season-best 44 assists.

Sophomore Haley Collins finished with a match-best 20 digs to lead five players in double-figure digs as Fitzgerald (10), Laite (11) and LaHaie (10) all reached double figures in that category to post double-doubles.

Sophomore Julia Swalchick recorded 14 kills and freshman Paulette Grand Pre chipped in nine to lead W&M. Freshman Monika Stanciauskas notched seven kills and finished with a match-high eight total blocks to highlight the Tribe's blocking efforts  Freshman Devin Andrews-Lyssy notched a team-best 20 digs and Grand Pre added 10.

With the score tied at 9-all in the first set, W&M rattled off four unanswered points to spark a 9-2 run and build an 18-11 cushion. The Seahawks battled back to within two, 20-18, later in the frame, but a kill by senior Brooke Bauernfeind put the Tribe back in control in its way to a 25-20 victory.

The second set saw the two sides battle back-and-forth through a total of 15 ties and three lead changes until back-to-back kills by Swalchick broke a 27-all deadlock and gave the Tribe a 29-27 decision.

In the third set, UNCW raced out to an early 10-3 advantage, only to see the Tribe fight back and use a  7-2 spurt to take a 19-17 lead. The Seahawks were able to bounce back, going on a 6-1 run to put them comfortably ahead on their way to a 25-22 triumph.

The Seahawks once again got off to a quick start in the fourth set, jumping out to an early 11-3 lead and  later stretching its advantage to 17-7 when W&M went on the offensive, scoring 15 of the next 19 points to take a slim 22-21 advantage. The Seahawks quickly regained the lead, as back-to-back kills by Mallard ended the run and gave UNCW a 23-22 edge. The two sides traded points until a W&M attack and a service ace by freshman Katie Gratale with the score tied at 24-all gave the Seahawks a 26-24 victory and forced a fifth set.

UNCW used the momentum to its advantage early in the fifth set, taking a quick 4-1 lead before W&M tallied eight of the next nine points to build a 9-5 cushion. The Seahawks countered the Tribe spurt with a run of its own, recording five straight points to go back ahead, 10-9. A few plays later, with the score tied at 11-all, a pair of kills by Mallard and two Tribe attack errors sent UNCW a 4-1 spurt that gave the Seahawks a 15-12 decision and the match.